Brand New Start
by imawesome1124
Summary: Having spent nearly a year traveling the country and struggling every day to survive, Joel and Ellie finally settle down to start a new life in Jackson. They will learn that although they have found a safe haven, they are not free from the dangers the world has to offer.
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

**Author's Notes: Before I talk about the story I would like to say a little bit about myself. First of all I am not really a story writer, so I don't expect this to be as good as most of the fanfics on this site. I do write though, lyrics that is. I am an aspiring musician and I play drums and write lyrics. For that reason this is the only fic I ever plan to write so I can focus on my music. I just couldn't stop thinking about the game so this was something I had to do.**

**Now, about the story. This takes place after the game beginning with the final cutscene. The title comes from a song of the same name by the rock titans Alter Bridge. I feel like that song captures the "hopeful" side of the ending really well, so that's where part of the inspiration for this story came from. Now, this chapter gets to talking about religion a bit, but I am NOT IN ANY WAY insinuating that those are my beliefs. In fact the only thing I will share about my beliefs, is that I believe in keeping my beliefs to myself. So don't even bring up that topic in your reviews or messages, unless you're talking about it in the context of the story. I shouldn't need to say that, but I'm not taking any chances knowing how closed-minded some people can be.**

**And before anyone asks this will NEVER get to JoelxEllie. So don't even bring up that disgusting topic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters. All credit goes to Naughty Dog. **

* * *

Brand New Start

CH 1: Arrival

"I gotcha kiddo." Joel stood on the ledge and extended an arm down to Ellie. The moment was symbolic of all the time the two had spent together. Just as Ellie looked up to him at this moment in a literal sense, she looked up to him figuratively as well. She trusted him with her life, and knew that everything he did was for her, and everything she did was for him. The bond the two had formed was steadfast, and it has finally brought them home.

But still, something weighed on Ellie's mind: what Joel had said in the SUV. In the back of her mind there was a hint of doubt, she couldn't shake the feeling that he had lied. She showed no signs, however, that anything was bothering her, and she jumped up to grab onto Joel's hand and be pulled up to the ledge.

The end of their journey was in sight. They would soon be safe, have a home, and get a chance to make a life that Ellie had never known, and one that Joel had nearly forgotten: a normal life.

Joel turned and began walking towards the town, but Ellie remained where she was. There was something important she needed to say.

"Hey wait," she said, as she grabbed her right hand with her left. Joel turned around and took a couple steps closer to her to listen to what she had to say, but she stayed silent. She looked away, thinking about what she wanted to say and how to say it. Frustrated at herself for not being able to say it, she let out a heavy sigh and bowed her head. _Don't beat around the bush, just tell him._ She picked up her head and dropped her hands to her sides, and spilled what was on her mind.

"Back in Boston… back when I was bitten… I wasn't alone." Joel could see where this was heading, but was unsure of why she was saying this right now. "My best friend was there… and she got bit too." Joel could tell that this was difficult for her to say, the event had clearly taken a toll that she had done a good job at hiding until now. "We didn't know what to do. And she says, 'Let's just wait it out. You know, we can be all poetic and just lose our minds together.' I'm still waiting for my turn."

Those words shocked Joel when they came out of her mouth. Surely she didn't mean it, right? She couldn't have honestly wished, after all she and Joel went through, that she had died alongside her friend. Joel knew all about that feeling though. He had felt the same survivor's guilt after losing Sarah, only he could have done more to protect her. There was nothing Ellie could have done with her immunity, she couldn't help it.

"Ellie-" Joel tried to reason with her, but she cut him off.

"Her name was Riley, and she was the first to die. And then it was Tess, and then Sam."

Joel recalled what she had said when they discovered that Tess was infected. _I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this._ It was clear to him that she felt responsible for their deaths, because of her immunity.

"None of that is on you."

"No, you don't understand." But he did. He understood very clearly how it feels to think you're responsible for someone's death.

"I struggled for a long time with survivin'. And you-" his hand went to his watch, but he managed to catch himself and snap back to the conversation with Ellie. "No matter what, you keep finding somethin' to fight for." Tommy had told him that after he lost Sarah, after he nearly ended his own life. The only response from Ellie was a sigh. "Now, I know that's not what you want to hear right now, but it's-"

"Swear to me." _What? Where was this coming from? Swear what?_ "Swear to me that everything that you said about the Fireflies is true."

He took a step towards her and looked her in the eyes confidently, but hesitated just a second too long. _Time's up, buddy. _"I swear."

There was no doubt in her mind now that he was lying. She looked down at the town, at home. She had a chance to start over, to make a new life with the man she had come to think of as her father. She had no choice but to trust him. "Okay."

Joel walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her. "We all have misfortunes. But no matter what happens, you need to keep strong. No matter how broken you feel, just know that life must go on."

She looked up at the man with tears forming in the corners of her eyes, but she managed to keep them contained. "Thank you, Joel."

He stepped back, motioning to her to follow him to the town. "Let's go, the road's just through these trees right here."

During the walk to the town, Ellie couldn't think about anything except Joel's lie. Despite swearing the he told the truth, she knew he wasn't. Why would he lie though? _He's trying to hide something from me. Something happened that he doesn't want me to know about._ She pushed the thought to the back of her head when they caught sight of the gate to Jackson.

"Now, the guards are gonna stop us, so let me do the talking and follow my lead." Joel held his hands up in the air beside his head, and Ellie followed suit. About a hundred feet from the gate, the guard in the tower stopped them, just as Joel told Ellie.

"Stop. Identify yourselves and tell me what your business here is."

"My name's Joel and this is Ellie. I'm Tommy's brother and we've come to settle in this town."

The guard spoke into his radio, trying to speak so Joel and Ellie wouldn't hear him, but Joel's sensitive ears picked up everything he said.

"Got a man and a girl at the main gate. The man claims he's Tommy's brother." Joel couldn't hear what the voice on the other end of the radio said, but from what the guard said next he was able to make a guess. "Are you sure? Don't you want to get Tommy out here to confirm it at least?" He waited to hear the guard speak again. "Yes ma'am." _Guess he was talking to Maria._ The guard lowered his rifle and motioned to someone below the tower. Joel guessed he was telling him or her to open the gate. "Alright, come on through. But keep your hands up as you're walking in."

"Got it. C'mon kiddo." The two followed the guard's orders and walked up to the gate with their hands up. When they got through the gate they were instructed that they could put their hands down, and then they caught sight of Tommy and Maria running up to them. Joel jogged up to meet Tommy and the two wrapped each other in a big embrace.

"Goddamn it's good to see you again, Joel!" Tommy exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around his older brother.

"Yeah, same goes to you." As the two hugged, Joel's eyes rapidly scanned around the town, marveling at what Maria's father had managed to set up.

"So what the hell took you two so long?" Tommy inquired as he let go.

"We got a bit sidetracked," Joel replied, purposely not giving even the slightest detail about the last half year.

"Well, I'm sure you'll tell me at some point." Tommy didn't care that Joel was holding out, he was just overwhelmed with joy to see his brother again. "So how are you doin' Ellie?"

She hesitated at first but eventually replied with a simple "I'm alright."

Tommy looked over the two of them, and could see that they were both tired. "C'mon, you guys look exhausted. How 'bout I show you to your house?"

"Lead the way, little brother." Joel gently grabbed Ellie by the arm, and the two of them followed Tommy to their home. Ellie couldn't fully grasp the concept of having an actual home. Even in the zone she never had a true home, just a place where she lived. She looked around the town with amazement as they walked through the streets. The houses were all still kept in decent shape. Part of her was saying that this wasn't real. It seemed too good to be true. And it got even better as they reach their house.

"Here she is," Tommy said as he handed Joel the key. As Joel received it, he held it up and looked at it like he had just been handed to most precious stone in the world. This was more precious than anything else the world could offer though, it was a symbol of a life to come. A life of peace, safety, and, most importantly, hope. It was a second chance.

He stopped marveling at the key long enough to stick it into the lock, turn it, and open the door. When Joel and Ellie stepped inside their jaws dropped almost in unison. The first floor had a bathroom right inside the door on the left side, a large sitting area and dining room in one, and a kitchen in the back. There was a staircase that went in an L shape on the right side of the room. The wallpaper was even still intact. Pale blue and off-white vertical stripes in the sitting area, and wallpaper in the kitchen was solid pale yellow.

"Joel…" Ellie could hardly speak because she was so overwhelmed by this, but she didn't need to speak for Joel to know exactly what she was thinking.

"I know," was all he said.

Ellie ran over to the right side of the room and belly-flopped onto the couch, burying her face in the cushion. A contented sigh came from her.

"The kitchen's stocked with a bit of food. It ain't a whole lot but you'll probably be doin' most of your eatin' at the diner anyway. There's three bedrooms upstairs and another bathroom." Tommy informed them. "And you won't believe this, we even got runnin' water." Ellie's head quickly snapped up from the couch and looked right at Tommy.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she asked.

"No I am not. We got it working just last week."

"Tommy, I…" Joel tried to thank him, but the words eluded him. "I don't know what to say right now."

"You don't need to say anything." He shot Joel a smile. "I'll leave the two of you alone now to get settled in."

"Thank you," Joel and Ellie said at the same time.

Joel took off his backpack and set it on the dining table in the sitting area. He was satisfied to leave it there for the time being. He looked over at Ellie on the couch and couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, man. This is almost too much," she said. "I don't think I could get used to this."

"It's gonna take some time, but we'll definitely get used to it."

Ellie took off her backpack and set it down on the floor in front of the couch. "I think I'm gonna take a nap." She tucked her legs in a bit in case Joel wanted to sit down next to her.

Sure enough, he sat down on the unoccupied cushion next to her feet. "You do that. You've earned it." He stared off at the wall on the far side of the room for a while, then turned to look at the girl lying next to him. After almost a year of every day wondering if she would live to see the next, barely managing to survive, she was finally free from all the evil the world had tried to throw at her. He felt a warmth in his heart, and his gaze then turned from Ellie to the watch on his wrist. Ellie had often times made him think of Sarah, but he was beginning to think that she was starting to replace her as a daughter.

_Could I really do that?_ He began to feel like he had betrayed Sarah by allowing Ellie to get so close to him. _Have I really replaced my only true daughter for a girl I didn't even know a year ago?_ They had been through Hell together. They'd both at some point stared death in the face and refused to be defeated. All they had been through together had formed a bond just as strong as his with Sarah, but Ellie could never really be a replacement. _No, I'd never do that._ Instead of thinking of Ellie as a replacement daughter, she was simply a second daughter.

As he heard Ellie's breathing slip into a soft rhythm, he slouched a bit and leaned his head back. It wasn't long before he was asleep too.

* * *

The two were woken up by knocking at the door. Ellie started to roll off the couch to answer the door, but Joel quickly stood up and said, "No, it's okay. I got it." He opened to door to find Tommy and Maria standing there.

"Well, what do you think of the house you two?"

Joel searched for the right words to say, but once again they eluded him. "I don't even know how to thank you Tommy."

"You can thank me later. We got a surprise for you two now." That got Ellie's attention. And she picked herself up off the couch and jogged up beside Joel.

"I like surprises. Well, the good kind of surprise that is. Which I'm assuming this is."

"Oh, this is definitely a good surprise," Tommy assured her. "Now, you two close your eyes and follow us. Keep your hands on our backs so you know where we're going."

The two did as they were asked. Joel was following his brother and Ellie was following Maria. They were led out onto the street before making a left. "Where are we going?" Joel asked."

"You'll see." They walked approximately 200 yards before making a right. They could both smell something cooking. Ellie's mouth began watering at the smell. It was something she had never smelled before. After they stepped off the pavement and onto grass, Tommy and Maria stopped and stepped to the side.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." Ellie giggled with anticipation. The two opened their eyes and saw a crowd of at least 200 people looking in their direction. They also saw that they were in what used to be a park.

When they opened their eyes the crowd all yelled out "Welcome to Jackson!" It was a party. In the time Joel and Ellie were napping Tommy and Maria organized a huge surprise welcome party for them. The two hardly reacted; they were too overwhelmed to know what to feel right now. They just looked at each other and smiled.

Tommy turned to the crowd and called out to them, "Alright, now you know how it works. They get first crack at the food." He gestured to Joel and Ellie, indicating that he was referring to them. They followed their noses through the crowd and saw a row of metal containers, similar to the ones Ellie had seen at the preparatory school cafeteria. In the first one there was what looked like chicken thighs. She eagerly grabbed a couple of those. In the second there was some kind of mix of vegetables. Normally she wouldn't even hesitate for that, but she could clearly see that there were better options. In the third container she saw shredded meat with some kind of thick brownish-red liquid.

"What's that?" she asked Joel, motioning to the mysterious meat.

"That is barbecue. I reckon you'd really like that. Go on, take some." She used the large serving tongs and scooped some up onto her plate. There was also a basket of rolls on the table. She was feeling ambitious so she grabbed two of them. Joel took note of how much she had on her plate. "Now don't eat too much. Your body's not used to eating so much food."

"Pssh. I'll be fine. Don't worry old man." She grabbed a fork from a utensil bucket, and went over to one of the park benches to sit and eat. Joel joined her on the bench after fixing a plate for himself. "Okay. Let's see what all the hype about this barbecue is about." She got some on her fork, inspected it for a second, and stuck it in her mouth. As soon as the flavor hit her taste buds she froze. She was captivated by the sweetness and smokiness of the sauce, and it all seemed to melt in her mouth. Her eyes closed in delight and Joel saw a stupid grin go across her face, accompanied by an equally stupid under-her-breath laughing.

"So, you like it?" She turned her head towards him with the same stupid look, and simply nodded in response. She swallowed what was in her mouth and began wharfing the rest of the barbecue down. "Whoa! Slow down kiddo." She ignored him. She finished the rest of it and looked at him with a triumphant smirk on her sauce-covered face.

"That may be the best thing I've ever eaten," she proudly declared.

"Had a feeling you'd like it."

"Hey, did you know that you're a shitty cook?" Joel couldn't help but chuckle at her remark. She was right after all. The food there put anything he's ever cooked to shame.

To both Ellie and Joel's surprise, both managed to completely finish their plates. "Oh, man. It's been a long time since I've felt full." She slouched in the bench and rested her hands on her stomach.

"That's something you'll probably be feeling a lot here, so get used to it." He looked at her and smiled, a smile which she returned. "I'm gonna go talk to Tommy."

"I'll be here," she responded. She sat in the bench for a few minutes, thinking about how great it was to finally be settled somewhere. Her mood changed quickly though when she thought about winter. The things she had seen, the things David had done, and what he almost did, have made wounds that she didn't think would ever heal. The physical damage may have healed, but the emotional and psychological wounds cut too deep.

Suddenly a girl about her age came up to her and sat down on the bench. She had light blond hair, like the color of Sarah's in the picture Maria showed her, and it was quite messy. She was shorter than Ellie, who guessed she was maybe 5'1" or 5'2" at the most, and skinny. Ellie was skinny as well, but this girl had a lot more food available to her. There was no reason for her to be that skinny.

"Why are you just sitting here? This party's for you, you should be having fun."

Ellie knew she was right, whoever she was. But the memories of that winter will never go away. She couldn't enjoy herself when she was remembering that Hell. "I've just got a lot on my mind is all."

"Oh. My name's Hannah. I think Tommy said your name's Ellie?"

"Yeah, that's my name."

"Well it's nice to meet you."

Ellie nodded. "Nice to meet you too, Hannah," she replied, even though she wasn't sure she meant it. The last two times she had met someone her age, they both died. She wasn't sure if she wanted to get to know anybody in the town.

Just then, another girl walked up to the bench. She was older than Ellie, and taller as well. She had curly light brown hair that seemed quite unruly. Her eyes were slightly squinted, giving her almost an angry look, but Ellie could tell that she was not an angry person.

"Well hey there, new girl," she said.

Hannah took the liberty of introducing the two girls. "Ellie this is Danielle, Danielle this is Ellie."

Ellie wasn't particularly comfortable with all the company, but she didn't want to brush them off either. "Hi Danielle."

"You can call me Danni if you want." She smiled at Ellie, and she had a smile that could make anybody feel better no matter how they were feeling. "Hannah, can you let me have some time to talk to Ellie?" Hannah obliged, standing up and giving Ellie and Danni some time to chat.

Danni sat down on the bench next to Ellie facing her. "Look… I know you've been through a lot, and I want you to know that I can help if you're willing to talk about it."

Ellie looked at her, perplexed. _How can you possibly know what I've been through? Not even Tommy or Maria know, who could have told you? _"How can you know that about me? You just met me."

Danni looked directly at Ellie, and put her hand on Ellie's shoulder as a way to try and open up to her. "I have a keen eye for that, a sixth sense if you will." Ellie still seemed confused, but she played along. "When I first looked at you I saw someone who was broken. And you know what? We're all broken in some way. It's just a matter of how well we hide the cracks."

Ellie could tell that Danni felt sympathy, but she wasn't sure why. "How are you broken, then?"

Danni sighed at the question, but felt obligated to answer. She knew that it might help Ellie open up to her. "When I was younger I saw my parents get gunned down by Hunters." Ellie felt the girl's tone change, and saw the grief on her face. "They gave themselves up to the Hunters to try and save me. I managed to escape, but I was so alone and so afraid, I had no way to fend for myself."

Danni's voice started to break as she told her story, and Ellie could feel tears welling up in her eyes as well. She had never known her parents, so she never had a chance to feel the grief of seeing them die.

"I wandered for days. I had no food, and my only water came from some lakes in the area. I found a small town, and went inside one of the houses, and just decided to wait there until I died." She fidgeted with her hands before wiping tears from her eyes. "Later that day, some of Tommy's men found me. They gave me water and some food, and brought me back to town. They saved my life. Let me tell you… I never was one to believe in anything spiritual, but that could only have been the work of some divine intervention."

"Pssh, sure," was the response from Ellie.

"You don't believe me?" Danni asked.

Ellie paused for a while before answering. "I don't know what I believe." Ellie had spent many nights thinking about this, and she had wished that she could take comfort from something beyond her. But she could never bring herself to believe.

"Well here's what I believe," Danni said as she leaned forward a bit. "I believe that there is something beyond our ability to perceive. You can call it a God, you can call it an entity, you can call it whatever you want. But there is something greater than us with a plan. Every person fits into that plan somewhere. When their part is done, they die and move on from this world."

Ellie thought what she was saying was nonsense, but went along with it anyway. "You mean like going to Heaven?"

"If that's what you believe. The reason that didn't happen to me is because my part wasn't over yet. I still have a job to do. That's why Tommy's men found me and that's why I'm still here today."

Ellie thought about what she was saying, and then her mind drifted back to the university last fall. _Joel should have died that day._ _I mean, I managed to stitch him up and find medicine, but maybe there was something else at work. _Part of her mind thought that there was some merit to what Danni was saying. "You know, you saying that's got me thinking."

"What about?"

"Last fall, Joel and I were at this university. He got impaled by a rusty piece of metal. I got him out of there and stitched him up but… maybe he got help from something greater than me." Ellie paused and looked at Danni, expecting her to reply. When she didn't reply, Ellie just looked down and said "Nah, I'm just rambling."

"No you're not. You're right." The two girls locked eyes after she said that. Danni could see that Ellie needed comforting, and thought that reassuring her that there is a higher power looking out for her would provide comfort. "Look, I'm not saying you have to believe. If you don't that's fine. I'm just saying you should keep an open mind." Danni reached out and placed a hand on Ellie's shoulder, to which she responded with a small smile. "Think about what I said. If you keep an open mind, I think you'll find some comfort."

Ellie could tell that Danni was trying to help, and she was right. She would be able to take comfort knowing that she wasn't alone in this world. The question is: would she be able to bring herself to believe? Even though she didn't believe what Danni had said, at least not at the moment, she was going to take what she had said to heart. _It can't hurt. The only thing it could do is help._ She nodded. "I'll think about it."

Danni gave Ellie a quick one-armed hug, and left her alone to think about what she said.

* * *

Joel and Ellie returned back to their house as the sun had just gone below the lowest ridge around the valley. Ellie walked over and immediately sat down on the couch with her head lowered and her hands folded in her lap.

"Well I'd say that was a pretty good first day here. What do you think, kid?"

Ellie didn't look at him. She had thought about what Danni said, wishing that she could find comfort in it, but finding herself unable to. "Sure," she replied.

Joel walked over and sat down on the couch beside her. "Ellie, is something botherin' you?"

"No, everything's fine. I'm just tired." She tried to play it off like there was nothing wrong, but Joel wasn't buying it.

"Ellie, everythin's not fine, I can tell. Just tell me what's wrong and I'll be able to help."

She picked her head up, and waited for quite some time trying to think of what to say. "What do you believe in, Joel?"

The question seemed random to Joel. He wasn't even sure he know what she meant by it. "Excuse me?"

"Like what do you believe in as far as… as far as religion goes?"

_Well that clears up some of it._ He still had no idea why she asked him that question though. The two had never discussed this topic, and it seemed odd that all of a sudden she wants to know what he believes. "Why do you ask?"

"I was talking with Danni, this girl in town, and she was talking about her beliefs. And I want to know what you believe."

Joel was still taken off guard by the question. And he wasn't sure how to answer it either. He was brought up Christian and brought Sarah up the same way. But after losing her he strayed away from those beliefs. He felt that he had been betrayed by a deity that was supposedly loving. _How could an all-loving god take my whole world away from me?_ He answered as honestly as possible. "I don't know. And you shouldn't be worrying about this."

"I do worry though." She lowered her head and took in a deep breath before exhaling heavily. Joel could see that she genuinely did worry about this. "I don't like the idea of being alone in this world. And, like, what happens after we die? If when my time comes and... just... that's the end, wouldn't that make my entire life a waste? I don't like that feeling."

Joel could see that she was distressed, and he didn't really know how to reassure her. "Listen, baby girl," he said as he put an arm around her. "I can't tell you if there's any life after this one. But I can tell you that your life is most definitely not a waste. And you are not alone either." She wrapped her arms around him and held her head up against his chest. "You're young, you're safe now, you've got so much to look forward to. You shouldn't worry about stuff like that right now. This is the time to enjoy life. You've never had that opportunity before, so take full advantage of it."

She sniffled, trying to suppress the tears she knew were coming. Every time Joel held her like this and talked to her in this way, she would start crying. "Thank you Joel."

He took his arm off of her shoulders. "Now I don't know about you, but I am beat. What do you say we turn in for the night?"

Ellie let go as well. "Sounds good."

They went up the stairs and Joel went into the bedroom right at the top. Ellie, forgetting she could have her own room now, followed. "Hold on there. You can have your own room now, remember?"

She stopped. Every night for the past year they had slept right next to each other. Joel made Ellie feel safe, and even though she didn't need him to feel safe anymore, she wasn't sure about the idea of sleeping by herself. Still, it's a chance to prove that she's not too dependent on him. "Right," she said as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Joel laid down on the side of the bed facing the door, a habit he had become accustomed to in order to put himself between Ellie and any dangers that could walk in, and shut his eyes. _I give her five minutes. _Sure enough, less than five minutes later, she walked in the door. Joel opened his eyes and simply smiled at her, causing her to feel a bit embarrassed. She laid down on the other side of the mattress, giving Joel the space she knew he needed. Within minutes they were both asleep.

* * *

**That concludes chapter 1 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: Ellie makes a new friend.**


	2. Chapter 2: Friend

**Author's Notes: First of all I was kind of surprised at how positive the feedback was for the first chapter. I know one of the reviews talked about how the faith conversation between Ellie and Danni last chapter really connected with them, and that kind of feedback is great to hear. That's my #1 goal with the lyrics I write, connecting with people. When someone says that, it's a really good feeling to let them know that their experiences are shared. That's why I prefer writing in that medium, it's easier for me to communicate my thoughts that way. **

**Now that I've been given good feedback I can say with more confidence now that this story will be quite the journey. It will have its highs and it will have its lows. It will have happy moments and it will have sad moments. Sometimes all four will happen at once.**

**As for this particular chapter, it's only half of what I had originally intended, but it would have been much too long if I wrote everything. So I divided it into two shorter chapters. The next chapter will be a direct continuation of this one. ****In the game Ellie always showed curiosity and enthusiasm thinking about what life was like before the outbreak, and I wanted to make that an important part of this chapter as she gets just a small taste of that life. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters in this chapter, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 2: Friend

Joel awoke much later than he had been used to. The blinding sunlight coming through the window revealed the dust particles dancing in random patterns throughout the room. He shielded his eyes with his left hand and rolled over to check on Ellie sleeping beside him. She lay on her side facing Joel, still fast asleep. Her mouth was open slightly, and Joel could see a puddle of drool on the pillow. _Well, she definitely slept soundly._ The two had made it through their first night of safety, but Joel was still nowhere near adjusted to that lifestyle yet, and he doubted Ellie would be either.

He got up and walked around the bed over to the window to get a good look at the town. The house they were in was near the edge of town. Looking left he could see most of the buildings, each one reminding him of life before the outbreak. Soon he would be able to return to that life, or be able to come close at least. He took a step back from the window, and a creaking floorboard caused Ellie to stir and then wake. She let out a long moan and sat up slowly, stretching her arms over her head. "Good morning, Joel."

He turned to face her and returned the sentiment. "Mornin'. How'd you sleep, kiddo?"

"Surprisingly well," she answered as she nodded. She slept more soundly than she had in months, and felt very well rested. "It's so weird waking up in a bed and house that we own."

Joel nodded in agreement. "Definitely gonna take some gettin' used to." He stroked his beard with his left hand and turned to take another brief look out at the town. He thought about what they had waiting for them in Jackson. Life in the Boston QZ wouldn't be able to compare to the life they were living now. There would be no worry of running out of rations, no oppressive military running every aspect of their lives, and no worrying if they would live to see tomorrow. "What do you say we head to that diner Tommy mentioned yesterday? I could use a good breakfast."

The thought of eating a real breakfast instead of something from a can they found in some old abandoned building got her out of bed real quick. "Yeah, that sounds great!" She quickly put her shoes on and jogged over to the door before quickly opening and running out. "C'mon, let's go!"

Joel had never seen her, or anyone for that matter, have so much energy after just waking up. Even Sarah, who seemed to have endless energy, needed a lot of coaxing to roll out of bed. "Slow down kiddo! Wait for me." Joel was still groggy and couldn't keep up with her in the euphoric state she was in. She stopped at the top of the stairs and waited for him, only before running down the stairs and to the front door when he caught up. "Ellie, what part of slow down didn't you hear?"

"Cant' help it! I'm excited to finally be able to eat a real breakfast," she called from downstairs. She was waiting at the door as Joel got to the bottom of the steps, practically bouncing with excitement.

"Let me grab the key, then we'll leave." He kept the house key in a drawer in the coffee table. He opened it up, reached in, and pulled the key out. As he did, Ellie opened the door and gestured for him to lead the way. After they had both stepped outside, Joel closed the door and locked it, just in case.

* * *

As they approached the diner Joel caught a whiff of something very familiar. He wondered if his nose was playing tricks on him, but as they got closer he knew that he was not being deceived. "I do believe I smell bacon."

"Bacon?"

Joel turned to Ellie with a look of sympathy. "Oh, you poor deprived child."

"Why? What's so special about bacon?"

"It's the most succulent, heavenly strips of pig meat and fat you'll ever have. You're in for a real treat this mornin' kiddo."

After a few more steps she also caught the smell. "Well it definitely smells heavenly. But I don't think anything will top that barbecue yesterday."

"Oh, just you wait. This is it," Joel said as they got to the diner. He looked into the first window they walked past and saw Maria and Tommy sitting right there in a booth, Tommy getting the window seat. Joel tapped on the window a couple times to get his brother's attention, to which he responded with a wave of his hand and a large smile. Tommy signaled for them to come inside, and as they walked through the doors of the diner they were greeted by the smell of a home-cooked meal and the chatter of a whole town conversing with each other. Ellie was nearly swept off her feet by all of it.

They sauntered over to the booth where Tommy and Maria sat. "Ladies first," Joel said to Ellie as he stepped aside.

"Nah, you should sit across from your brother," she insisted.

Joel stood there, still gesturing for Ellie to sit down first.

"I insist, Joel."

"Alright, then," he said as he sat down and slid up against the window.

"Good morning you two," Tommy greeted Joel and Ellie. "How was your first night in your new home?"

_Home. _The word seemed so foreign to Ellie. In her whole life she had never lived anywhere she would consider a home. Just hearing someone else say it was weird for her. "It's going to take me a while to get used to it," she said. "But it was great. I slept like a rock."

Tommy smiled. It was exactly what he wanted to hear. "Glad you enjoyed it. Maria, how bout fixin' them some plates?"

"Sure thing," she said as she stood up. She then turned to Ellie, "You ever had a true home-cooked breakfast before?"

Ellie shook her head. "Never, this will be my first. What's on the menu?"

"Everybody gets a piece of toast, two pieces of bacon, and a biscuit. All made from scratch."

Everything Ellie heard, saw, or smelled only got her more excited about the meal she was about to eat. Her lively green eyes were lit to the point where they could serve as a flashlight in the dark. She began bouncing up and down in her seat, like a dog waiting to be fed a Filet Mignon.

"Calm yourself, kiddo," Joel said as he put a hand on her shoulder to settle her down. Slowly, she stopped bouncing but still sat up perky and eager of what was about to come. "It's just breakfast."

"I knowww. But it's going to be a really good breakfast."

Joel wasn't going to try and argue with that, because he couldn't. He hadn't had homemade biscuits in nearly two and a half decades. The thought of sinking his teeth into a warm, buttery, fluffy biscuit made his taste buds dance with anticipation.

"What do you say after you guys eat, Maria and I could give you a tour of the town? Show you the important buildings and introduce you to some of the important people."

Joel was going to answer, but Ellie was quicker on the draw. "Sounds good." Again, the excitement over the meal she was about to eat got the better of her and she started bouncing in her seat once more. Joel again put his hand on her shoulder, this time without saying anything, and again she slowly settled back down.

She didn't stay settled for long, as Maria came back with the plates of their food. Ellie let out an excited squeak as she set the plate down in front of her. "That bacon just came off the skillet, sweetie. It's going to be very hot," Maria warned. Ellie ignored the warning, and picked up one of the strips with her thumb, index, and middle fingers, before quickly dropping it back onto the plate.

"Aah…Aah…Aah!" She screamed as she flailed her hand around before sticking those three fingers into her mouth to soothe the burn.

"You know, bacon grease is hot," Joel informed her.

She turned with her fingers still in her mouth and nodded. Then she took them out of her mouth to retort. "So I've heard." She inspected the tips of her fingers and saw that they had turned red, but thankfully she did not hold the searing strip of succulent swine long enough to cause blisters.

"Why don't you start with somethin' else, Ellie?" Joel tried to persuade her.

She decided it was best to wait for the bacon to cool, despite how tempting the smell was. She looked at her plate trying to decide between the biscuit and the toast, deciding finally on the biscuit. Having come out of the oven a while ago it was fairly cool. She took a bite and Joel saw her face light up. "Mmmm. That's really good," she remarked with a full mouth.

"You had biscuits before?" Joel asked.

She swallowed, and stopped for a second trying to remember if they had anything like this at the preparatory school in the Boston QZ. "Kinda. There were these roll… things… in the boarding school. But they were pretty shit compared to this." She turned to Maria to ask a question. "Who made these?"

"The biscuits were made by Allyson. She's the wife of Andrew, who runs the stables."

"Tell her she knocked them out of the park. Whatever that means," she said as she savored the fluffy, buttery delight.

Maria chuckled. "Sure thing."

After Ellie finished the biscuit, she decided that the bacon was cool enough to attempt to eat. She picked it up, still a bit hesitant after burning herself the first time, but found that it had cooled off quite a bit. She took a bite and, like she did with the barbecue, froze. "Holy moley! This is better than the barbecue."

Joel smiled and ruffled her hair. "Told you you'd like it."

Just then Hannah walked up to the table and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey Ellie. I wanted to talk to you yesterday after Danni finished talking but you looked like you wanted to be left alone. Mind if we go outside so we can talk without all the noise in here? You can bring your plate so the food doesn't get cold."

Ellie looked at Joel without saying anything, asking permission without actually speaking. Joel just gave a slight shrug of his shoulders indicating that it was alright by him. "I don't see why not."

"Great." Ellie picked up her plate and followed Hannah outside and away from the chatter of the diner. They sat down on the sidewalk with their backs against the building about ten feet away from the door.

* * *

"It's real refreshing to have someone like you come to town. It's nice to have someone my age I can talk to."

Ellie took it as a compliment, but it seemed weird for Hannah to say that. There were other kids in the town around their age. "Thanks, but, there's other kids our age. Why don't you talk to them?"

Hannah looked down when Ellie asked that. "I… I'm kind of a loner. Never really tried to make friends with anyone before. But there's something about you… you have this… pleasant aura. It makes me feel like I can talk to you."

Ellie wasn't sure what she meant by that, but assumed it was a good thing by the way she said it. "Thanks, I guess."

"And you seem relatable to me. That's nice."

Ellie scoffed slightly at that remark, she knew it wasn't true. _The things I've been through, I don't think we can relate at all. _"I'm really not."

"Oh don't say that. There's gotta be something we can relate about."

Ellie spoke in a bit more serious tone this time. "No, I don't think there is."

"Ellie, I know there are things we have in common." Ellie was starting to get annoyed at this point. "Like, we-"

"Have you ever killed someone?" Ellie snapped and cut her off.

Hannah was caught off guard at the question. She thought it was a stupid thing for a young teenager to ask another young teenager, and she audibly scoffed. "No. Of course not. Never needed to." Ellie looked away, and Hannah's mood changed drastically. "Why? Have you?"

Without looking back, Ellie replied with "dozens."

Hannah let out a heavy sigh, she felt bad for Ellie having to go through something like that. "Wow, really?"

Ellie turned her head to face Hannah and nodded. "Yep."

Hannah was still trying to find something the girls had in common. She really felt like she needed to befriend Ellie. "Well, that's just one-"

"Do you have parents?" Ellie again cut her off.

_Why's she asking me this? I just saw her sitting with her dad. _"Just my dad, my mom ran off long ago. But, you have your dad too though."

"Joel's not actually my dad. I've been an orphan my entire life." Her voice was raised now, and she was not aware that she was practically yelling at Hannah. "I've been through a lot of shit in my life. I never knew my parents, I grew up in a military orphanage, I've seen people close to me die, I've killed people, and I've almost been killed myself." Her emotions were getting the better of her, she did not realize that her tone of voice was becoming increasingly more angry. She didn't know that she was hurting Hannah. "Don't fucking try to say we have a lot in common, because we don't. Okay, we just don't."

Hannah turned away from Ellie as Ellie went back to eating. Ellie looked over and saw her head hung and her shoulders heaving slightly. She could tell the girl was crying. "Hannah, is something wrong?"

Hannah turned to face her with tears running down her face. "I was just trying to be friendly. I really wanted to be friendly to you. And then you just shot me down."

When she said that, Ellie slapped herself in the face, figuratively of course. She reached out to put a hand on her shoulder to apologize. "Hannah, I didn't-"

"No." Hannah shook her hand off and stood up. "You were right, we have nothing in common. I shouldn't have tried to befriend you," she said looking down at the girl who had brushed off her attempt at making friends. She turned to go back in the diner, but Ellie quickly stood up to block her path trying to apologize.

"Hannah, wait," she pleaded as she put her hands on Hannah's shoulders. Hannah stopped and looked off to the side, trying not to make eye contact. "I didn't know that this was so important to you. I didn't mean what I said, I'm just an idiot sometimes. I just… those were my emotions talking. And they're… they're unruly and never mean what they say." Hannah tried to walk around Ellie, but again she blocked her path. "Please wait and listen to me," she said, putting her hands on Hannah's shoulders again. Hannah now was at least making eye contact with Ellie. "You have to understand. I've been through a lot of traumatic stuff, and my emotions tend to get out of hand. I didn't mean to hurt you. I never want to hurt anyone. Please… just... disregard everything I said, and please forgive me."

Hannah stood there for several seconds, pondering what Ellie said. She sounded like she was genuinely sorry, and decided that it would be best to forgive and forget. She smiled, and said "I forgive you."

Ellie smiled back, thankful that the girl took her apology to heart. "Hug it out?" she asked bashfully as she shrugged her shoulders.

Hannah chuckled a bit at Ellie's proposition. "Sure." They both wrapped their arms around each other and held on for a few seconds. "I really hope we can be friends."

"Me too," Ellie replied as she let go.

"Oh, and… do you think I'll ever have to kill someone?" Hannah asked, seeming sincerely worried at the thought.

Ellie paused. She knew that at some point it may be necessary, but she didn't want that time to ever come. "I hope not."

"Me too. Well, let's go back into the diner now."

"Right behind you – oh wait!" Ellie quickly went back to where she had been sitting on the sidewalk and grabbed the plate she nearly left out there. "Don't want Buckley to get this. That mutt's fat enough as it is."

Hannah laughed. "Yeah. And if he farts afterwards we'd have to evacuate the entire town."

Both girls broke out in manic laughter at that remark. "Yeah, tell me about it!"

As they walked back into the diner, they looked at each other and knew that this was the start of a great friendship, despite being shaky at first. Hannah was especially grateful, having never had a true friend before in her life. Ellie realized, after hearing what Hannah said, how important this friendship was to her. She told herself that if she was the only friend Hannah would ever have, she'd need to make sure it was really meaningful.

Despite not having much, if anything at all, in common, the two felt a strong connection. Ellie had been hesitant to become close to anyone because of what happened with Riley and Sam, but at last she felt like she could push those memories aside for Hannah._  
_

* * *

**That concludes chapter 2 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: Ellie and Joel get the grand tour.**

**P.S. If you follow or favorite it, please also leave a review! Even if it's only one sentence, feedback is what's most important to me.**


	3. Chapter 3: Tour

**Author's Notes: Once again, thanks everyone for the feedback. All of it is taken to heart and I use it all to help improve my writing. **

**I had some trouble with this chapter because I had almost none of it thought out beforehand and basically made it up as I went along. The end result is definitely a lesser work than the first two chapters, but it's mostly just an introduction to some of the characters. The next chapter will be better, as I have the majority of it already thought out.**

**Lastly, I want to address a comment someone made in a review about how the last chapter was "cute." If anybody is expecting this to be a cute story, they're going to be disappointed. It will get very dark at times and, yes, people will die in this story. The early chapters are definitely lighthearted, but don't expect it to last.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters in this chapter, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 3: Tour

"Here, come sit with me," Ellie told her new friend as they re-entered the diner. She was glad that Hannah was able to forgive her for her outburst. _I hate my emotions sometimes, but at least she understood._

"Sounds good." The girls interlocked their arms as Ellie ushered them over to the booth where she, Joel, Tommy, and Maria had been sitting.

"Hey Joel, I'm back," she said as she sat back down in the booth, followed by Hannah. As Hannah sat down she shot a smile at Joel, hoping to make a good first impression.

"You made a new friend, I see." Joel did not meet Hannah at the party the evening before, but he was happy to see Ellie making friends around town.

"Joel, this is Hannah. We met last night." After being introduced, she put on a bigger smile and waved at Joel.

Joel smiled and waved back. "It's a pleasure. You're familiar with these two I assume?" Joel asked as he gestured towards Tommy and Maria.

"Yeah, of course. My dad and I have lived here for a long time."

"Hannah, I don't think I've ever seen you socialize with anyone in all the years you've been here," Tommy told her. She had been in Jackson since nearly the beginning, and always kept to herself. "Some particular reason you can talk to Ellie but not anybody else?"

Hannah shrugged her shoulders at the question, and she and Ellie locked eyes for a moment. "I don't know. There's just something about her… we connect in a way that I don't with the other kids." She smiled at Ellie, and Ellie smiled back. "I've been kind of nervous about talking to the other kids in town but I just… felt like I could talk to her easily."

Maria had known Hannah for a long time, and was glad to see her finally coming out of her shell. "Well, I'm glad you've found a friend here."

"Yeah, so am I. I really need someone around here to talk to. My dad's always been a little bit worried that I always stayed in my own world, I think he'll really be happy." As she said that her dad came up the booth.

"There you are. I saw you walking out with that new girl but didn't see you walk back in and I was looking for you." He turned his attention to Ellie and Joel. "How do you do? My name's Jeffrey and I'm Hannah's father." The man was about six feet tall and a little bit younger than Joel. He was starting to go bald in the front but his hair covered his ears in the back.

Ellie took the liberty of introducing herself and Joel. "I'm Ellie and this is Joel." Joel gave a slight wave as Ellie said his name.

Jeffrey then turned his attention solely to Ellie. "You know, you're the first person I've ever seen my daughter go up and talk to. You must have a real gift."

For a split second Ellie thought he meant her immunity. She realized how stupid that thought was as soon as it entered her mind. _No, idiot. He's talking about a gift with other people._ "Thanks. I'm surprised I'm the first, your daughter's real pleasant to talk to."

Jeffrey chuckled to himself a bit. "I always thought so, which is why I never understood why she never tried to make friends with anyone. I'm glad to see someone who my daughter feels comfortable with." He turned to Joel. "Joel, how about tonight I take you out tonight and give you a little orientation for guard duty?"

Joel looked at Ellie briefly. He didn't want to leave her alone for long on only their second night at Jackson. "I don't know. How long would we be out?"

"I don't actually have guard duty today. I'd just be showing you around, so I could probably have you back after maybe 2 hours."

He turned to Ellie. "You think you'd be okay with me being gone for a couple hours?"

Ellie turned to Hannah, and Hannah understood that she was implying that the two could hang out while they were gone. She smiled and nodded at Ellie. "Yeah, and could Hannah come over to our house while you guys are gone?"

"If it's okay with Jeffrey," he told her.

"I got no problem with it," he answered without hesitation.

"Cool!" exclaimed Ellie.

Tommy looked at the plates of the two newest residents of Jackson and noticed that they were done eating. "Now that you guys are done, you ready for the grand tour?"

Joel and Ellie looked at each other, then turned to Tommy and nodded, completely synchronized.

"Yeah," they said in unison.

Tommy gestured for Maria to stand up and let him out, and she obeyed. "Great. First I'll take you into the kitchen to introduce you to the people responsible for what you just ate." Ellie was particularly eager to meet the chefs. She had never enjoyed eating as much as she did that morning, even though the one she ate the evening before provided stiff competition. They wandered to the back of the building and entered through a door with a sign that read "Kitchen Staff Only." Tommy was willing to allow an exception this time.

* * *

They entered and caught sight of five chefs. The first one they were introduced to was Randy. He was one of the men responsible for the bacon, and Tommy told them he raises and slaughters the pigs himself. He was around sixty years old, with scraggly gray hair coming down past his shoulders and a thick gray beard that came to his chest. He was heavy set, Ellie drew comparisons to how Bill was built, but he wasn't quite as tall as Bill was.

The second person they met was Randy's son, Branson. He was in his mid-thirties and had short black hair and a thick beard, though not as thick as his father's. He was tall and heavily muscled, which was a surprise to Ellie because most of the people she had seen in her life were skinny. He stood eye-to-eye with Joel, but was considerably thicker. _I guess not living off of fucking rations your whole life really does make a difference._ He worked with his father raising and slaughtering the pigs for food.

They moved onto the next person, an older woman by the name of Allyson. Maria had mentioned she was the one who made the biscuits. She was a little older than Joel, with hair that was mostly gray and piercing hazel eyes. Ellie could tell that when she was younger she must have been exceptionally beautiful. She still retained a fairness about her appearance, hinting that she was still clinging to that youthful beauty.

The last two were introduced together. They were twin males by the names of Stephen and Christopher. They were short, standing only a few inches taller than Ellie, with fairly average builds. They were in their early twenties, and Ellie felt that they must have been infants when the Cordyceps outbreak began. Ellie noticed something particularly stunning about their eyes. They both had one blue and one brown eye. She had never seen that before, and was quite mesmerized by them.

* * *

As Tommy led them out of the kitchen, Ellie gave them all a big "thank you" for the meal, and smiled at them all as she walked out. Joel and Ellie followed Tommy outside and to the house directly adjacent to the diner. The house had a large garage, Joel imagined whoever lived there had probably stocked up on a lot of supplies. Tommy knocked on the garage door and called out to the owner of the house.

"Paul, you in there?"

"Yeah," he called out from the garage, "give me just a second."

Tommy turned to Joel and Ellie. "Paul runs the barter market in the town. People trade surplus supplies for luxuries or vice versa."

"Oh, that's interesting," Ellie said.

The garage door lifted and they were greeted by a man who appeared to be in his seventies. He had a very rugged appearance, with disheveled hair and a thick beard, and a face adorned with scars. "Oh! These must be the new people I heard about yesterday."

"Name's Joel and this is Ellie. Nice to meet you Paul."

Paul extended his hand to Joel and gave him a firm handshake. "Always a pleasure to see new faces around town." He then moved to give Ellie and equally firm handshake, crushing her small hand. She did a good job of not letting him know he was causing pain. "Pleasure to you too, missy."

"Easy on the girl, Paul!" Joel called out. "She's tough, but she's still fragile." Ellie turned to Joel with a mildly offended look on her face.

Paul turned to Ellie. "Sorry. Look, I'd like to chat, but I was actually about to make my way over to Travis's house to collect some clothing. But we'll definitely talk some other time."

"Take it easy, Paul," Tommy told him as he left.

* * *

They turned to follow Tommy down a street perpendicular to the one they were on. Ellie could see what she thought was a church with a large cemetery. "That's a church, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Tommy answered. "As you can probably guess it ain't used much these days. We really only use it for the occasional funeral." That somber note caused Ellie's mood to change. Churches were supposed to be places people went for comfort. There's nothing comforting about having to bury a loved one. She could see that most of the graves were marked with a proper headstone, but there were about a dozen and a half marked simply with wooden crosses. She was able to determine that those were people who died after the town had been resettled.

* * *

At the end of that street were the stables. The sight of the horses picked Ellie's spirits right back up. They saw a man outside the stables washing one of the horses, Tommy introduced him as Andrew. He was the husband of Allyson who Joel and Ellie met back at the diner. He was around sixty years old and was nearly bald. He was fairly short and a little on the heavy side.

As they got closer, Andrew stopped washing his horse and walked over to Ellie. "You. I remember you."

She was understandably a little confused. This was the first time she had met him, so she didn't know how he could remember her. "Um… I don't remember you?"

"You're the one who stole my horse at the dam last fall."

When he said that, she felt both guilty and embarrassed. "Oh… yeah, sorry about that. I was just… not thinking then."

"I don't take too kindly to people running off with my horses."

She reached her right arm across her body and grabbed onto her left elbow, and put on the best puppy-dog face she could. "So, I guess that means I'm not allowed to take a horse out any more?"

Andrew waited a little while before responding. "Nah," he said. "I'm all about turning the other cheek. I'll let you take a horse out if you want, but you'll have to earn my trust first."

"Thank you," she said as she smiled.

"Alright, I'll let you get back to work now," Tommy told him as he continued the tour.

"Thanks, Tommy. And nice to finally meet the new folk."

* * *

"There's one more person you need to meet. She's probably the most important woman in the town besides Maria."

Joel was intrigued. "Who is this woman? What's she do?"

"Her name's Brenda, and she's the town's only doctor. It's amazing what she can do without all the technology doctors used to have. You ever get sick or hurt, she's the one you go to." Her house was near the main gate of the town. The building had a porch in front with a deck overhead. The front door opened to an open room with two beds near the back. There was a side door leading to another room with a staircase along the wall leading to the second floor. In one of the beds lay a young boy about six years old and who Ellie assumed were his parents beside the bed.

"Connie, is Brenda around?" Tommy asked the woman.

"She's getting something from upstairs." She turned to Joel and Ellie. "Who are they? I haven't seen them around."

"They're new in town. This is Joel and Ellie. Joel, Ellie, the woman's Connie, that's her husband, Barry, and their son Adrian."

Connie stood up to shake Joel and Ellie's hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you two. It's always nice seeing new faces come to town."

Tommy turned to Joel and Ellie. "You two hold on, I'll get Brenda down here." He walked about halfway up the steps and yelled up to her. "Brenda! Can you come down here for a sec?"

"Just a minute, Tommy," she called from the second floor.

Just then a young girl came in from the side room. "Did I hear there's new people in town?" she asked eagerly. She saw Joel and Ellie and ran over to them with excitement. "Hi! I'm Nicole, but you can call me Nicky." She was about ten years old with hair that seemed to never have been cut, as it nearly came down to her waist. "I think I heard you're Joel and you're Ellie?"

"Yeah," they replied together.

Tommy filled them in on what she did around town. "She was taken in by Brenda when she was born. Her mother died during the pregnancy and her father was killed by Hunters before that. Recently she's become Brenda's apprentice. She's learning some of the basic things about medicine and healing."

Joel looked down at her with a smile. "I guess that's something you should learn early if you're going to learn it."

Ellie felt strong empathy for Nicky. She had never met someone who, like herself, had never known either of their parents. Because of that she felt and instant connection with her. As Ellie looked at Nicky she could see that deep beneath her cheerful façade there was pain, but it was hidden well. She wondered what she could have gone through to feel pain. She had been living in this sanctuary her whole life, what could have made her feel that?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a woman coming down the stairs with a canteen in her hand. _This must be Brenda._ She was probably in her mid-sixties, and the way she carried herself showed that she was remarkably wise. She seemed to disregard Joel and Ellie and walked directly to the bed Adrian was lying in. She but the canteen on his head and told him "Keep this on your head; it'll bring the fever down." She walked over to Tommy, Joel, and Ellie. "Now then, new people. I always love meeting new people."

He gestured to Joel and Ellie. "This is my brother, Joel, and Ellie. They just got to town yesterday."

She gave Joel and Ellie each a quick hug with a large smile. "It's so nice to have you around town."

"Brenda's the most gentle, kind woman you'll probably ever meet. Rest assured if you ever get hurt, you're in good hands with her," Tommy informed them.

Brenda turned away and blushed with embarrassment. "Oh don't flatter me too much. I'm just a woman who enjoys taking care of people."

"And you do that better than anyone else." She blushed again. He gave Joel and Ellie a little bit of background on her. "Her grandmother was a nurse in Holland during World War Two. That's where she got her training from. She uses pretty much the same technology they had back then, maybe even less."

Joel was impressed, and he nodded at her to show it. "That's quite impressive."

They were interrupted by knocking at the door. "Come in," Brenda called out.

The door opened and a man walked in grabbing his hand, which was bleeding quite heavily. "I think I need stitches, I cut myself on some shears."

"Let me see." The man showed her his hand. There was a cut about two inches long on his palm, and she didn't need to look long to determine if he did need stitches. "Yeah, you'll need a few stitches alright."

"We'll get out of your hair while you work on him," Tommy said as he motioned to Joel and Ellie that they were leaving.

"Take care, Tommy. And so nice to meet you, Joel and Ellie."

"Nice to meet you to," Joel called out as he walked out the door.

* * *

Tommy looked at the gate after they stepped out. There was a building right inside that served as the headquarters for the guards. "That building just inside the gate is the guard station," he told them as he pointed at it. "All the adults in town take turns guarding. After Jeffrey gives you a little orientation I'll add your name to the rotation, Joel."

"Can you add my name?" Ellie asked excitedly.

Tommy shook his head. "Uh… no. Sorry, but you have to be sixteen to get your name added."

Ellie let out an exasperated sigh. "Why can't I be in the rotation? I'm a great shot and more than capable of handling myself," she pleaded. Tommy was not budging.

"Sorry. It's a town rule. Once you turn sixteen I'll make sure you get some time at guard duty."

She grumbled in defeat. "Fiiiine, I'll waaaiiiit."

Joel ruffled her hair playfully. "Alright, now, we're gonna head back to the house. Appreciate the tour."

Tommy shook his brother's hand before letting him and Ellie go back home. "It was my pleasure."

* * *

They walked part of the way back to the house in silence, until Ellie blurted out "Why didn't you talk to him?"

Joel looked at her confused. "'Bout what?"

"About me getting guard duty."

"Sorry, but Tommy said it's a town rule and I don't want to go against that."

She gave a defeated sigh. "I guess the rules are the rules. I wish he could make an exception though."

Joel put a hand on her shoulder. "You'll get a chance, kiddo."

* * *

**That concludes chapter 3 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: Ellie tries something new, and pays for it.**


	4. Chapter 4: Misery

**Author's Notes: Yeah, I know the last chapter was kind of boring. There really wasn't much opportunity for a plot and it was more filler to take up some time between the chapter before and this one. This chapter is much different though. I had a complete blast writing it, especially Ellie's parts. I think you guys and girls will get a kick out of her in this chapter. It does get a little bit more serious towards the end, but this is overall a fun and lighthearted chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters in this chapter, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 4: Misery

"Ugh… I'm sooo fullll," Ellie groaned as she threw herself onto the couch. They had served deer at the diner for dinner, and Ellie pigged out like she never has before.

"Didn't I tell you not to eat that much?" Joel had warned her multiple times that she would not feel well if she ate as much as she did. A hunting trip a couple days prior had brought back several deer, so there was plenty of meat to spare. Ellie had three full helpings of it.

"Yeah," her voice was muffled from her face being buried in the pillow, "but did you really expect me to listen?"

Joel chuckled. Ellie certainly was a stubborn kid. "I was hoping you'd be smart enough to, but I ain't really surprised you didn't."

She picked her head up to respond. "Oh, so I'm stupid now?" she asked with false anger and a snarky voice.

Joel smiled and answered "Dumb as a post."

Ellie stared at him with a blank expression on her face, while Joel stood there with a smirk on his. She was playing it off as if she had been offended. She couldn't keep a straight face for long, and she burst into a fit of laughter, causing Joel to do the same. He ambled over to the couch to sit down. "Scoot," he said as Ellie sat up to make room. "It's okay though. We have all this food available to us now, may as well make the most of it."

Ellie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. I almost wish it didn't taste so good so I wouldn't be tempted to eat as much and feel sick afterwards."

The two shared another laugh at her most recent remark. "Now listen, Jeffrey's gonna be over here to take me to the guard station and leave Hannah here with you. I'm gonna want you girls to stay here while we're gone."

Joel saw Ellie's mouth turn into a devious grin. "Won't do any good, Joel. We'll still find a way to get into trouble here."

Joel sighed in response. "Yeah, don't I know it. Just, please try to stay out of trouble."

Ellie held her hand up to her head in a military-style salute. "I'll try, sir."

"Good girl," Joel said as he pat her on the head.

"Oh, so I'm a dog now?" she asked in the exact same manner as earlier.

Joel tried to think of a more smart-ass comment this time around. He thought quickly. "You certainly smell like one." Ellie had never really had a proper shower, and in the last year bathing consisted almost entirely of going into a shallow river to wash some dirt away. But Joel had not had a shower in over twenty years.

"Oh, like you smell any better! Even Buckley thinks you smell like shit."

Joel gave her a gentle nudge on the arm. "I didn't say I don't smell like shit. I'm just saying you do too."

Ellie gave Joel a two-handed shove, but ended up pushing herself back more than Joel. As the two sat on the couch laughing, there was a knock on the door.

"That's probably Jeffrey," Joel said as he stood up. He opened the door and sure enough, Jeffrey and Hannah were standing there. Hannah had a bag slung over her shoulder, and Ellie was very curious as to what was in it. "Well hey, you two. Hannah you can come on in." He stood aside and let Hannah walk through the doorway before stepping out. "We'll be out about two hours, so remember: don't leave the house, and stay out of trouble."

"Got it," the girls said simultaneously.

After Joel had closed the door, Hannah went over to Ellie and the two shared a quick hug. "It's great that we get to hang out. I've got a lot I want to talk about, and I bet you do too."

Ellie thought about that, and realized that she did have a lot she could talk about, but not a lot that she actually _wanted_ to talk about. "Actually, a lot of this stuff is pretty personal to me and, don't get me wrong, I like you, but I'm not comfortable talking about some of that stuff since I just met you."

Hannah nodded slowly. "I see," she said as she took the bag off her shoulder. "I brought a little something with me. Maybe it will get you to open up." She unzipped the bag and took out a bottle of vodka. She displayed it proudly like a trophy with a large smile.

"Where did you get that?" Ellie asked as she took a small step back.

"I stole it from my dad when he wasn't looking," she declared proudly.

"Are you crazy? What happens if he finds out?"

"He won't find out. Trust me, I sneak a few sips fairly often and he's clueless of it. Come on, let's drink."

Ellie could tell that Hannah didn't have much of a guilty conscience when it came to alcohol, but Joel gave her strict instructions to stay out of trouble. Drinking alcohol was certainly on the list of things she couldn't do. "Joel would kill me if he found out I was drinking."

"He won't find out. A couple sips won't get you drunk, but it'll make for better conversations." She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to convince her new friend that there would be no harm in drinking just a little bit.

Ellie thought about it for a long while. She at first wanted no part of Hannah's proposition, but she was seriously considering it now. _I guess if I don't get drunk, he won't find out._ "I guess… I guess a couple sips wouldn't hurt anything."

Hannah's face lit up now that Ellie had agreed to partake in her method of socialization. "I knew you'd come around. Let's chat."

* * *

"There's three towers along each wall. This wall right here, the towers would be designated, starting from the far left one, North 1, North 2, and North 3." Jeffrey was explaining to Joel the basics of guard duty. It was for the most part fairly straightforward, but there were still things that needed to be clarified. After Jeffrey explained everything he planned to take Joel up in each of the twelve towers to shadow the guards a little bit. "Hey Joel, I gotta ask you something."

"What is it?"

"As I said this morning, Hannah's never tried to make friends with anybody. It really surprised me that she took such a liking to Ellie. I just want to know what you think it is that makes the two connect."

Joel pondered Jeffrey's question, but he couldn't really find and answer. Ellie hadn't exactly been a social butterfly in recent months, so it was a bit of a surprise to him as well that she made friends with somebody so quickly. "I really don't know, Jeffrey. I like seeing her happy and talking to someone so I'm not complainin' about that."

"Oh, I'm not complaining, I think it's wonderful that Hannah's found someone she can talk to. I just wonder what she sees in Ellie that she doesn't in the other kids in town."

"Like you said, Ellie's got a gift," Joel said. "It's as simple as that."

Jeffrey thought about the to-the-point explanation Joel gave. "I guess you're right," he simply replied.

* * *

"Ugh," Ellie grunted as she took the bottle away from her lips. The clear liquid burned her throat, but gave her a warm feeling inside. "You know, once you drink more of this stuff it starts to taste alright." The first sip she took was vile and repulsive, but she quickly developed a taste for it.

Hannah just giggled. "You got that right, girl." The liquor was having an effect on both of them; they were getting very giggly. She took the bottle from Ellie and took another sip. They had both had a lot more than a few. "I think this is a great bonding experience." Hannah passed the bottle back to Ellie, who also took another sip.

As she removed the bottle from her lips she started giggling softly. "Hehehe… My fingers are tingling," she said as she held out her hand.

"That's what alcohol does." There was a long pause before she said anything else. "I think I can do a handstand," she declared as she stood up.

"No you can't."

"Watch me." She got on her hands and feet, but barely even managed to get her feet off the ground before she fell over, causing Ellie to erupt with laughter.

"You fell!" She exclaimed through manic laughter.

"Yeah sure, laugh at my pain," Hannah said as she sat back down next to Ellie.

"You're not actually in pain, you dummy." Ellie stopped laughing when a thought hit her. "You know, how are Joel and Jeffrey gonna react when they see that we're drunk?"

The question got Hannah's full attention. She wasn't laughing any more either. "Oh… I didn't think this through." The two were in trouble, and they knew it. Out of the blue, Hannah came up with a cunning, foolproof plan. "I got an idea."

* * *

Joel and Jeffrey walked up to the door of Joel's house. "I'll send Hannah out to you. You can just wait here." He took the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door before pushing it open. When he entered the house he saw the two girls slouched up against the back counters in the kitchen.

Ellie threw her hands up with excitement when she saw Joel enter. "Joel! You're back!" she yelled.

_What the hell's gotten into her?_ "Yes… I am. I was… out for two hours and you knew where I was goin'."

"And I missed you," she said as she held her arms forward. Hannah was just as perplexed as Joel was. _What's she doing? This is not according to the plan._ "Wait there, let me come give you a hug," she said as she tried to stand up. She pushed herself up off the floor with her hands, but they gave out and she fell right onto her bottom. She and Hannah started laughing immediately as she hit the ground. "I fell on my ass," she said to the girl next to her. The laughing started to die down until a snort from Ellie caused another laughing fit, during which Ellie fell over onto her side.

Joel was as confused as he'd ever been. He had never seen Ellie act even remotely close to this. She was acting… drunk! And not just drunk, she was completely smashed. He did not see any alcohol near them, but after a quick scan of the room he saw the neck of a glass bottle sticking out from underneath one of the couch pillows. He started walking that direction and Ellie quickly stopped laughing.

"Oh, there's nothing to see over there Joel. Really there's nothing… don't go over there – oooooooooooo." Too late. He had found the evidence.

"Did you really think you could hide this from me?" he asked as he held up the bottle.

Hannah turned to Ellie. "Busssssteddddd-duh."

Joel was furious, but he wasn't showing it. "Ellie, this is unacceptable."

Ellie tried to find something to say in defense. "Well…" she looked back and forth between Hannah and Joel a couple times, before finding her defense. "It was her idea. Yell at her," she said as she pointed to Hannah. Hannah's jaw dropped when her friend ratted her out, and she looked at her in disbelief.

"It may have been her idea, but you didn't have to participate." He turned his attention to Hannah. "Hannah, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Your father is waiting for you outside. I'm sure he would like his vodka back, and would also like to know why his daughter was drinking it.

Hannah sat in silence for a few seconds, before reality slapped her in the face. "Ah, balls," she said as she bowed her head. "I guess I should face the consequences," she said as she gingerly stood up. She stumbled her way over to Joel, running into the dining table in the process, before taking the bottle of vodka from him and stumbling out the door.

Joel walked over to Ellie and folded his arms across his chest. "Now then, what made you think this was sensible?"

"In my defense…" she stood up slowly this time, trying not to fall again, "…I didn't actually want to drink any at first. She pressured me into it."

Joel shook his head. "Pressure… I guess they didn't talk about peer pressure in that preparatory school you were in."

"You know, I think there were more important fucking things to talk about."

Joel was noticeably angrier now. "You think this is funny? You could get very sick, Ellie!" He stopped himself from getting too angry, and spoke in a more calm tone. "Just... go up to the room and stay there the rest of the night."

Without speaking she stumbled over to the stairs and grabbed onto the railing. She put her right foot up on the bottom step, and then took it back down. She put it up again, followed by her left foot, before going back down to the bottom again. After one more failed attempt to climb the steps, she gave up. She leaned back while still grabbing the railing, supporting her full weight with that one hand. "Could you please carry me?" she asked.

Joel thought she should have to walk herself up to her room, but realized that she might fall and hurt herself. _Just this one time. _ He went over to her and as he reached out to pick her up, she fell into his arms unconscious. "Woah-oah," he said as he eased her down to the floor, before putting his arms under her knees and neck and picking her up. "You... are gonna feel like hell when you wake up," he said as he started carrying her up the stairs. When he got to the first landing he stopped, and realized that it was more a case of _if_ she woke up. She drank a lot of liquor, and as far as he knew she had never had any before. Alcohol poisoning was a real concern. He had heard of people choking on their own vomit after drinking a lot and passing out, but he didn't think she drank quite that much. Nevertheless, he was still worried.

He laid her down on her side of the mattress, and decided that he should get into bed as well. He didn't want to leave her side when there was a possibility of her getting sick. He laid down in the bed and put a hand of top of her head for a moment. He closed his eyes, and as he drifted off he hoped that she would wake up in the morning as well.

* * *

Joel woke up around the same time he had the morning before, and was relieved to hear the sound of Ellie snoring next to him. _She made it through the night. Thank God. _She lay on her left side, facing the window. He knew it would be best to let her sleep in, and he also knew that when she woke up she was going to feel miserable. He didn't want to be in the same room when she woke up. He sat up and stuck his feet off the side of the bed. When he stood up, he heard a loud and long moan come from Ellie. _Ah, great... she's awake._

"Fuuuuuuuuck," she groaned.

"How ya feelin' this mornin', kiddo?" he asked. He realized he shouldn't have asked it, because he knew how she felt. She was having a hangover. Joel thought about that, and realized what it actually meant. _Aww… baby girl's first hangover._ In a strange way he felt proud, like a father who had just watched his child take their first steps.

"What the hell happened last night?"

Her memory was foggy, as he expected it would be. "You don't remember?"

"Not really," she said, agitated.

"You and Hannah got smashed and then you passed out. Now you're payin' for it."

There was a brief silence, followed by "That sounds vaguely familiar. Fuck, I've never had a headache like this before."

Joel wanted to show sympathy, but he didn't feel any. _She was irresponsible and got drunk, she deserves this._ "Yeah, that's what you get for getting drunk without any supervision. Now get up, it's time for breakfast."

Ellie did not move, and remained silent.

Joel was more authoritative this time. "Ellie, get up out of bed."

"Noooooo, let me stay here."

He thought about arguing, but decided it would be futile. Instead he thought it would be good to get her a glass of water. He thought it would make her feel better and make it easier for her to get out of bed. "I'll be right back."

He went downstairs into the kitchen to get a glass out of the cabinet. He grabbed the tallest glass he could find and turned the faucet on, making sure the water was nice and cold. He filled the glass about three quarters of the way full before shutting the water off. He walked back up the stairs and into the bedroom, walking around to Ellie's side of the bed. "I brought you a cool glass of water.

Without opening her eyes, she extended her hand up and out to where she thought she heard his voice. Joel looked at her hand – _Oh, she's gonna hate me for this_ – and splashed the entire contents of the glass into her face. The shock caused her entire body to flail wildly for a couple seconds before she collected herself enough to scream "Fuck you Joel! Ahh…ahh..." She put her hands to her face as the pain shot through her entire head.

_I have no regrets._ "There, you see." He set the empty glass down on the nightstand next to the bed. "Now get up, I ain't playin'"

She growled, slid her feet off the side of the bed, and used her hands to push herself up off it. She got about halfway up before immediately going and lying back down in the exact same position she was in before.

"Ellie-"

"Just go. Enjoy your breakfast. I'll be here."

Joel stood there for a second thinking about whether or not he should try to coax her out of bed any more. "I'll bring you a plate from the diner."

"Don't forget bacon."

"I know."

* * *

Joel, Tommy, and Maria all sat down at the booth. They saw that Joel had a plate for himself and a plate for Ellie, but she was not with him. "Is Ellie going to be joining us?" Maria asked.

Joel gave a quick shake of his head. "Nah. She ain't feelin' well, so I decided to let her stay in bed."

"I see," she responded.

"What'd she come down with?" his brother asked.

Joel paused, and smiled. "You ain't gonna believe this."

Tommy chuckled. "Try me."

Joel took a dramatic pause before telling them what was wrong with Ellie. "A hangover."

Tommy let out a quick, breathy laugh. "You're shittin' me."

"I am not."

"You let her drink?!" Maria asked furiously.

"No, I wasn't there, I was out with Jeffrey. Hannah brought over a bottle of vodka and the two of them just… got plastered."

"Get the fuck out," Tommy said through his laughter.

"She passed out too. I'm surprised, and thankful, that she didn't throw up or… piss or shit her pants."

Tommy and Joel were both laughing quite hard, while Maria had a very different reaction.

"Oh my God! How can you guys be laughing at this?!" she asked with disgust.

"Come on, Maria. They're just kids and they're curious. I was curious when I was younger," Joel tried to reason with her.

"It doesn't matter! They could have gotten alcohol poisoning, and Brenda does not have the equipment to do anything about that!"

"They didn't, though-"

"But they could've. When you get home you put Ellie in her place and let her know that she is never to do anything like this again!"

Joel was getting agitated at Maria. "Uh, Maria, you ain't in any position to tell me how to deal with her," he snapped. "And besides, I don't think I even need to scold her. I think this hangover will teach her a good lesson."

"Joel!" Jeffrey called out as he stood next to Joel at the booth. "Does your daughter have a hangover as well?"

Joel looked up at him. "She ain't my daughter, but yeah. Pretty bad one too."

"I can't believe Hannah would do something so stupid. She's gonna get an earful from me and you better do the same to your girl. And while you're at it, tell her she won't be seeing Hannah for a while." Jeffrey was fuming, and understandably so.

Maria shot a look at Joel, as if to say _see, he has some sense._ Joel took note of the look, and now he had two people supporting the idea of giving Ellie a stern scolding. "I'll consider it," he told them.

"I am so pissed," Jeffrey said as he walked away.

Joel sat and thought about what Jeffrey and Maria had said about disciplining Ellie. While Maria was certainly right about how she could have gotten sick, he didn't feel like further punishment was needed. Still, he knew that a hardheaded kid like her doesn't learn lessons easily. He needed to let her know that what happened the night before can never happen again.

* * *

He walked back into the house carrying the plate he fixed for Ellie. "Ellie!" he called out. "Breakfast is here!" When he got no response he went upstairs looking for her. He found her lying in the exact same position she had been before he left. She hadn't moved an inch. "Did you get up at all while I was gone?"

"Nooooooooouuuggghhh."

Without saying anything more, he walked over to her nightstand and set the plate down.

"Thank you," she said weakly without opening her eyes.

"C'mon, eat up," he instructed her.

"I will, eventually. I need to take a piss but I can't stand up."

Joel tried to encourage her. "Sure you can. I have faith in you, kiddo." _Time to get corny._ He put his hand on her shoulder and started ever so gently shaking her. "If you just believe in yourself, you can accomplish more than you ever thought – "

"Oh, shut up old man!" she snapped as she shook his hand off of her.

He immediately put his hand back on her shoulder. "If you want me to stop, you have to get up."

"Then get off me and let me get up!"

Joel obliged and took a step back from the bed to give her space to walk through. Very slowly, she managed to stand up. The pain in her head meant she couldn't open her eyes more than halfway. "Even my hair hurts." The words were barely discernible through the grumbling, which continued incessantly until she was out the door. When she was down the hall, Joel realized that he was still a bit hungry. He stealthily walked over to the plate to snatch a piece of bacon when she wasn't looking. He slowly reached out a hand to grab a piece of the delicious pork. "Don't even think about it!" she yelled from the hallway. He backed off, slightly disappointed.

He heard the bathroom door close, followed by the loud thud of Ellie falling to the ground. He was sure she was okay, but he still needed to check just in case. He walked down the hall and knocked three times on the bathroom door. "Ellie, what happened in there?" _Obviously she fell. But was she okay? _She didn't respond. He wasn't panicking yet, but it was definitely odd that she didn't even give a moan. He knocked again. "Ellie! You okay?" Again, no response. That partially threw up a red flag. If she was okay, she would have given some indication. He knocked again. "Ellie! Are you okay?!" When she didn't respond the third time, the red flag was fully up. He opened the door without caring if she was decent, all he cared about was if she was okay. Her feet kept Joel from opening the door all the way, but he squeezed through to find her lying on the floor with both eyes closed. "Ellie?" A slight panic had set in, but it was lifted when she opened her eyes and looked up at him, still squinting. By the way she was looking at him he could tell she was expecting some kind of reaction. The only reaction she got was an insincere pity sigh.

"I fell," she said faintly.

_Wow! I never would have guessed. Captain Obvious saves the day!_ "Yeah, I can see that."

"Luckily there was a floor to break my fall."

Joel went over to her and grabbed her arm to help her stand up. "C'mon. Get on up, do what you need to do, then eat your breakfast. I'll be on the couch downstairs; we need to have a serious talk."

* * *

He waited patiently on the couch for her to come down. He had a feeling in would be a while before she was ready to come down. After about ten minutes he heard Ellie come tumbling down the stairs and hitting the wall at the first landing where the stairs bend. He ran over to the stairwell and saw her lying there, looking at him with the same look she had in the bathroom. The reaction from Joel this time was an aggravated sigh.

"I fell."

"Ellie, knock it off, that ain't funny. Now get down here and sit your ass down on the couch."

"Geez, someone's bossy."

"Don't push me, Ellie," his voice was raised now. She made her weak and wobbly way over to the couch and sat down on the center cushion. She put her elbows on her thighs and rested her head in her hands. Joel stood across the coffee table from her with his arms folded against his body. "Now… Here's where we stand. What you did last night… was not okay, and you need to face the consequences."

She didn't respond.

"Jeffrey gave Hannah a good chewin' out over this whole thing, and I was strongly considerin' givin' you the same."

"Then go ahead. My head hurts so much I probably won't even know you're saying anything."

He paused before speaking again. "I strongly considered it, but decided against it. I'm lettin' this hangover serve as your punishment. Jeffrey wasn't as generous, so along with a hangover of her own, Hannah won't be gettin' out much for a while. Hopefully you'll learn a good lesson from this."

"Oh, I definitely learned a lesson. Never drink again."

"I didn't say you can't drink anymore, I'm just sayin' don't go gettin' hammered with no adults around. You're still just a kid, Ellie. Your body can't tolerate that much alcohol. You could have gotten alcohol poisoning, and if you did there wouldn't be a damn thing we could do about it. You wouldn't be sittin' on that couch there, you'd be lyin' under the ground... as in a grave"

Again, she didn't give any acknowledgement that she heard him.

"I was scared, Ellie. You really had me scared. Let me tell you a story," he said as he walked over and sat down next to her on the couch. "It was my sixteenth birthday, and some of my friends from school threw a big party for me. There was alcohol there and I was drinkin' and... I wasn't responsible. I drank too much and, like you, passed out. There was a big difference though. I woke up in a hospital bed with a tube goin' up my nose, down my esophagus, and into my stomach to pump out the alcohol. All this after being given CPR to revive me. As I was lyin' in that bed I couldn't stop thinkin' about my parents and Tommy. What if I hadn't come back? What if my parents had lost a son, and Tommy had lost a brother, because I was irresponsible? I couldn't imagine puttin' people who care about me through that." He looked directly at Ellie. "Now, let me ask you: could you put someone who cares about you through that? 'Cause that's what I thought I might have to go through last night. You're like a daughter to me."

That statement got Ellie's undivided attention. She figured he had thought of her that way, but he had never before said it outright. She looked right into his eyes and could see the affection in them. He genuinely thought of her as his daughter.

"I care about you... very much. Now I want you to promise me that you'll never put me through anythin' like that."

She sat there for a moment, and then she wrapped her arms around him. "I promise," she said as Joel returned the embrace.

After a few moments of hugging the two let go. Joel stood up to head into the kitchen. "Now then, I think this calls for a drink…"

Ellie let out a loud groan as she forced her head down into the couch cushion.

"…of water." He pulled a glass out of the cabinet that was identical to the one he had used to splash the water in her face and filled it up. "Seriously, you need to drink plenty of water today." He walked over to the coffee table and set the glass down in front of Ellie. She looked at the glass of water very skeptically. She believed it was water, but it sure looked a lot like the vodka she drank last night.

"That is water, right?"

"Yeah, I promise."

She sat up and began drinking from the glass. She then turned to Joel to say something she needed to say. "Joel, I'm glad we had that talk."

He nodded at her, and put an arm across her shoulders. "So am I, baby girl."

* * *

**That concludes chapter 4 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: An anniversary is celebrated at Jackson.**

**Remember to leave a review. Your feedback is the most important thing to me as a writer and it motivates me to continue.**


	5. Chapter 5: Anniversary

**Author's Notes: I had a feeling drunk Ellie would be a hit. That last chapter was by far my favorite to write so far, and it's good to have some happy chapters considering how dark it will get in later chapters. **

**This chapter does not have much of a plot, but it does feature some of my take on what life for Joel and Tommy was like before the outbreak. I wanted to focus on emotion in this chapter, which is not my strong point. If I did a good job conveying the emotions, let me know. If I didn't, also let me know, but kindly please.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters in this chapter, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog. I do not own the lyrics in this chapter. All credit goes to Lynyrd Skynyrd.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 5: Anniversary

"That should do it." For the past week John had been trying to get the shower in Joel and Ellie's house to work. Although Jackson had running water, for some reason their shower did not want to work. They had been waiting eagerly for it to finally be up and running, and it looked like the time had come.

"Time for the moment of truth," Joel said as he reached out to the knob on the bathtub faucet. He turned the knob and water started to flow out, as it had been. The problem was that the shower would not come on. Joel flipped up the tab to switch to the shower, there was a slight delay, and water started raining down from the shower head.

"Yes!" Ellie shouted as she jumped with elation. The joy she felt was comparable to the joy one would feel during the first rainfall at the end of a long drought. "Finally, I can take an actual shower!"

"John, thanks a ton for getting this back to working order," Joel said as he shook John's hand. John was about Joel's age, and probably had the most neatly trimmed hair of anyone in the town. His hands were rough and calloused, indicating that he had spent a lot of time doing hard manual labor.

"Anything to help you out. You two enjoy that."

"We will," Ellie said jubilantly as John walked out of the bathroom.

"You ready to experience one of my favorite things of the pre-infection world?" Joel didn't need to ask, the answer was obvious.

"Is that a serious question, Joel? What do you think?"

Joel didn't respond to her question. Instead, he simply told her "Enjoy."

In her over-excited state she started to pull her shirt up before Joel had left the bathroom. He quickly put a hand up in front of his face so he wouldn't see anything he didn't want to. "Ellie! For Christ's sake wait until I'm not in the room!"

She pulled her shirt back down with extreme embarrassment. She was so eager to step into her first ever hot shower that she didn't register that Joel was still in the room. "Sorry. I'm just really excited."

"Yeah, well you almost put me in a very uncomfortable situation." He turned to walk out of the bathroom. "I'll be downstairs," he said as he closed the door behind him. As he walked down the hallway he could hear a loud sigh of contentment come from the bathroom, followed by her whistling. He smiled as he went down the stairs.

* * *

It was more than 45 minutes before she came downstairs. She was wearing a black T-shirt with a band logo that had mostly faded, but the design of cross-shaped tombstones with strings connected to large hands in the sky was somewhat visible. _What the fuck does that symbolize?_ She had a white long-sleeved undershirt to cover the bite mark on her right forearm, as always, and khaki pants that were a bit too long.

"Well you were in there an awfully long time," Joel said as she came to sit on the couch with him.

"I would have stayed in longer but the water got cold," she said as she jumped onto the cushion next to him. "Let's get to the diner. Hopefully there's still some food left for us."

Joel shook his head. "I think we missed breakfast, we may have to fix some food for ourselves."

Ellie sighed in defeat. "Do we have bacon?" she asked pitifully.

Joel got up to look in the cabinets for what food they had. He opened the cabinet and a thorough scanning showed no bacon. "No bacon. But…" he pulled a can out of the cabinet. "…there is some corned beef hash."

Ellie looked at him, puzzled. "What the hell is that?"

"It's just beef and potatoes. It's pretty good."

"But no bacon in it?"

"Nope."

She flopped back down to a lying position on the couch. "Then I don't want it. There's gotta still be some food at the diner. Let's go."

Before Joel could respond there was a knock at the door. Ellie quickly jumped up to answer it. She opened the door to find Tommy and Maria standing there, each with a plate of food in their hands. "We brought you breakfast since y'all didn't show up at the diner," Tommy said.

"Never mind, Joel. Breakfast came to us." She motioned for the two to come in. The two walked in and set the plates down on the coffee table.

"We can't stay and chat because we've got stuff to do," Maria informed them. "We're going to be busy setting up for the party today."

Ellie and Joel both looked at her curiously. "Party?" Ellie asked.

"You didn't hear about it? Whole town's been talking about it all week."

Ellie and Joel looked at each other, then back at Maria. "Haven't heard a thing," Joel told her.

"Today is the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the 'Jackson Constitution.'"

Ellie found that news particularly exciting. "Oh, wow. So this community is ten years old?"

"Technically it took two years from my father starting to build the town up to actually establishing the Constitution. So it was twelve years since its inception, ten years since it was officially established."

"Ten years of second chances," Tommy added. "That was the whole reason why her father set this place up. It really is beautiful what we've done here: all the lives we've saved, all the hope we've given people. We've created a community where people don't have to live in fear anymore. This is the last place left on Earth where people can say that they don't live in fear every day. None of this would have been possible without the brilliant mind of the late Roy Flemming. I remember speakin' to him when he was on his deathbed, and he told me 'No matter what happens, always keep believin' in second chances. You do that, and you can save what's left of mankind.' He's lookin' down on us now with a big smile, seein' that after ten years all the hard work he did wasn't in vain. What we're doin' here today is all for him."

Ellie found herself about to cry at Tommy's soliloquy. She looked up at Maria and said "I bet your father is extremely proud of you for keeping this place running for ten years."

She nodded slowly. "Even though he's not with us anymore, he still oversees everything and helps me to do that. I couldn't keep this place running without his guidance." She smiled at Ellie, who smiled back. "Okay, we need to head out and start setting everything up. We'll see you guys this evening." Maria and Tommy waved goodbye as they walked out of the house.

Ellie and Joel waved back. "Thanks for the breakfast," Joel called out.

"No problem," Tommy replied as he closed the door.

"Wow, ten years," Ellie remarked. "That's a long time."

"Maybe for you, but remember that I'm fifty. So for me it's nothin'."

"Old fart," she teased.

"Yup, that's me."

* * *

After breakfast Ellie went over to Jeffrey and Hannah's house to see if they were going to the party. She hoped they were going simply because it's such a special occasion for the town, but mostly because she wanted to spend more time with Hannah. She knocked on their door and waited a few seconds without getting an answer. She knocked again and waited. She was about to knock a third time when Jeffrey opened the door. "Hello, Ellie."

"Hey. Is Hannah here?"

"She's in her room right now.

"Are you guys coming to the party today?"

"We'd like to, but no."

Ellie was severely disappointed. "Awh, why not?"

"Hannah's still serving her punishment for what happened with the vodka a week ago. Don't think she's quite learned her lesson yet."

Ellie stood in silence for a few seconds before saying anything. "Oh."

"Sorry to disappoint you. When I feel she's learned, you two can see each other again. It's got nothing to do with you, I think you're a magnificent young girl and Hannah really likes you. I just don't trust her at the moment."

Ellie nodded understandingly. "I understand."

"You enjoy the party tonight," Jeffrey said as he went back in the house.

Ellie was really looking forward to spending the party with Hannah, but that wasn't going to happen.

* * *

As Joel and Ellie approached the park where the party was being held, Ellie noticed a large pile of wood in the center of the park. She assumed it was for a bonfire. She also saw poles with black boxes on top scattered around the perimeter. She wasn't sure what they were for.

"Those things, what are they?" she asked Joel.

"Those are speakers. Somehow they found working ones."

Ellie thought about what they could possibly use speakers for. "Do you think there'll be music at this party?"

When Ellie asked that, Joel thought about how much he missed music. "That would be nice."

As they walked into the park they responded to the greetings they were given by the townspeople. Ellie saw Danni, who she met on the first day she got to Jackson, through the crowd. Danni saw her too, and smiled and waved to her. Ellie waved back. Suddenly there was a loud ringing coming through the speakers followed by Tommy's voice.

"People of Jackson: thank you all for coming to the town's tenth anniversary celebration!" His voice was met with rousing applause from the town. "There were many people involved with the founding of this community. I'd like to turn the microphone over to one of the men pivotal to creating what we have today. Please give a hand for Mr. Mark Houser."

As Tommy handed off the microphone to Houser, the people of Jackson gave an ovation considerably greater than what Tommy received. Houser settled them down and began his speech. "It was twelve years ago, on a morning like any other. We had been traveling all through the night, and in the wee hours of the morning we stumbled upon this very town. It had long been abandoned and forgotten, yet it still seemed alive somehow. It called out to us, especially a man by the name of Roy Flemming. Some of you may remember him, and all of you know his daughter, Maria. When we got to the town he said 'This is where we change the world.' He told us his plan, and how he thought we could actually put together a safe haven in this God-forsaken world. Everybody laughed at him, even his own daughter, except for me. I stood behind him all the way, regardless of all the people talking about how we've lost our minds. After two years of breaking our backs and pushing our wits to the end, we accomplished what people said was nothing but folly. Still, Roy was not satisfied. He thought that there was still something the town was missing. Suddenly he realized what it was. 'A Constitution' he said. Again, everybody laughed at him, but he had proven that his judgment could be trusted. Everybody in the group put their heads together to create what would solidify this town as the last refuge on the planet, and the Jackson Constitution was written. Tragically, less than a month after seeing his vision become reality, Roy Flemming passed away. This gathering today is not only to celebrate second chances, but to honor the man who believed in second chances enough to create this community. At the end of the festivities we will light the bonfire, to symbolize the burning away of all the fear that people once felt. Before we begin, however, I'd like to take a moment to honor the man responsible for creating this safe haven."

The town participated in a brief moment of silence to pay tribute to the great man who built this town. After about ten seconds, Houser spoke again.

"Thank you. Now, let the celebration begin." The town erupted in applause as cheesy country music started being played on the speakers. Some of the people started dancing, but it was clear that after more than twenty years after the apocalypse, nobody actually knew how to dance.

Joel put his hands on Ellie's shoulders to tell her something. "You go on and do your thing, I'm gonna go talk to Tommy."

"Okay." After Joel walked away, Ellie simply went over to a bench and sat down.

* * *

Tommy turned around to see Joel approaching from behind. He initiated the conversation he knew Joel was about to start. "After everything went down all those years ago, I didn't think we would ever be able to have a normal life again. While it isn't quite normal yet, I don't think it can get any closer. People can live like they did before the outbreak." Tommy sighed, reminiscing about life before the outbreak. "You know what I miss most? Our ranch back in Texas. Remember all the shit we would get into when we were kids?"

Joel laughed, remembering some of the trouble he and Tommy used to get into. "Scarin' the Rogers's horses with firecrackers."

"Puttin' a snake in the Donaldson's mailbox," Tommy added. The laughing started to die down when Tommy had a sobering thought. "I don't think I need to ask you what you miss the most."

Joel was also not laughing anymore. The answer was obviously Sarah, only twelve when he lost her. "I still see her face everywhere. The memory of that night is still as vivid as when it happened." The scene played out in his mind again, as it had very often since it happened. "Starin' down that soldier's barrel…"

"_Listen buddy, we've just been through hell. We just need – " The soldier raised his rifle at them. "Oh shit!"_

"…He opened fire…"

_Bullets whistled at them, missing Joel but striking his daughter being carried in his arms. Her blood-curdling scream pierced the night._

Tears were streaming down his face as he retold the story of how his daughter was killed. "…I held her in my arms, beggin' her to stay with me. God, her screams…"

"_You're gonna be okay! Stay with me baby!" he pleaded as Sarah's cries of agony cut through him like a knife._

"…And then she was gone."

"_Sarah." Her cries had stopped, and he stared into her lifeless gray eyes. "Baby…" She did not respond. "Don't do this to me, baby girl. Don't do this to me baby."_

He wiped the tears from his eyes. He was not ashamed of being seen crying in public. "The worst part of that whole ordeal was…" He took a deep breath. He was finding this very difficult to say. His words were hard to understand through his sobbing. "…s-she died a-a-afraid. I t-tried to comfort her b-but s-she was so scared. She knew she was going to d-d-die and I c-couldn't do anything to c-comfort her."

Tommy put his arm around Joel's shoulders. "You shouldn't be dwellin' on that tonight."

Joel looked his brother in the eyes and could see tears welling up in his as well. "Yeah, you're right." Joel thought it was time to change the subject. "Ellie… has been a Godsend. Let me be clear that she will never replace Sarah in my heart, but she… she fills the void that Sarah left. I'm grateful for every minute I spend with her. She's changed my life."

Their conversation was interrupted by Barry, who Joel and Ellie met at Brenda's house, coming to tell Tommy something. "Hey Tommy, I just talked to Dean and he says he's out for tomorrow."

"Dammit, that's three people who have backed out."

Joel had no idea what they were talking about. "Backed outta what?"

Tommy filled him in. "We found a structure a few miles up the road. We've been lookin' to turn it into an outpost but we need to make sure it's clear. I'm sorry to do this to ya, but we need ya to come along and help."

Joel was not sure that we wanted any part of it. "How long would it take?"

"About eight to ten hours. You'll be away from Ellie for a lot of the day."

Joel did not feel comfortable leaving Ellie alone for that long. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, he was just worried that something bad would happen to him when he wasn't around. It was a fear he had since last winter. Any time he had spent away from Ellie was time he had spent worrying about her safety. He didn't want anything to happen to her if he wasn't around to protect her. Even though they were safe in Jackson, it was a fear he could not let go of easily. "I don't want to leave Ellie alone for that long."

"I'm sorry, but three people have already dropped out of this. She'll be fine, I promise."

Joel knew his brother was right. He had nothing to worry about. "You're right, again."

* * *

Ellie was sitting alone on the bench, like she did at their welcome party. Danni came over and sat down next to her. "Sitting by yourself again? You should be out and about socializing with people."

Ellie looked at Danni. "I had planned on spending the day with Hannah, but she's in the doghouse."

"Yeah, I heard the two of you got plowed last week," she said as she smiled.

Ellie looked embarrassed. "You heard, huh?"

"The whole town heard. Word travels fast around here – ooh! Look over there! At that guy!"

Danni pointed to a group of about 6 boys, appearing to be between the ages of 15 and 18. "Which one?" Ellie asked.

"Tall one with the ponytail."

Ellie caught sight of a guy who appeared to be sixteen years old. He was taller than Joel and had wavy hair that was put back in a ponytail about five inches in length. "What about him?"

The older girl blushed. "That's Derek. I… kinda have a thing for him."

Ellie smiled at her. "So go talk to him," she said.

Danni bashfully bowed her head. "I can't, I get nervous whenever I try to talk to him."

"Just… ask him to dance."

"I tried but I can't even go up to him. I've been waiting for him to ask me out."

Ellie leaned forward a bit. "How do you know he will ask you out?"

"I don't. I'm just hoping."

Derek turned towards the girls on the bench. "Wave to him," Ellie said, nudging her. Danni gave a quick and awkward wave which Derek returned, along with a wink, before he turned back to face the group of guys he was with. "That's a start." When Derek turned to walk over to the bench, Ellie thought of an idea. "Go stand over there and wait."

Danni followed Ellie's instructions and went to an open area in the crowd. Derek stopped in front of the bench to talk to Ellie. "Hey, what were you and Danni talking about?"

"Stuff," Ellie replied.

"What kind of stuff?"

"The stuff you talk about."

"Let's leave it at that I guess. I've been trying to find the courage to ask her to dance."

Ellie's face lit up slightly. _This is going according to plan._ "So go do it."

"I've been trying, but… she intimidates me."

Ellie laughed. "How could she possibly intimidate you?"

Derek shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I guess because she's older and more intelligent than me."

"How much older can she actually be?"

"I'm sixteen and she's eighteen."

Ellie looked over at Danni, then back at Derek. "Well look at it this way. Danni's a pretty girl, and I can see that there are some other 'eligible bachelors' around town, if you know what I mean. If you don't take your chance, you might not get another." A smirk donned her face.

He nodded. "I'll do it. Thanks… what's your name?"

"Ellie."

"Right, thanks Ellie."

He walked over to Danni and asked her to dance. Ellie couldn't hear what was being said, but she saw Danni offer her hands to Derek and the two went off and started dancing to the music. Ellie gave a slight fist pump that her plan had worked. Suddenly she heard a voice from next to her that startled her. "I saw that." It was Joel, and he took a seat next to her on the bench. "What qualifications do you have for givin' someone advice on how to ask someone out?"

Ellie blushed a little bit. "Back in the zone, I dated this guy for a while… a week… four days."

"And that makes you an expert on relationships?"

"I never said that," she said with a smile. Her smile faded when a thought entered her head. "I don't think I'll ever be in a relationship again."

Joel leaned slightly closer, listening intently. "What makes you say that?"

She put a hand on her forearm, but made sure to not reveal the bite mark. "Even though I can't turn, the Cordyceps is still inside me, right?"

Joel nodded slightly. "Yeah, that's right."

"And… it's spread through body fluids. So, I can never kiss anyone or, when I'm older…" What she was trying to say next was very uncomfortable in front of Joel. "Oh, this is awkward…"

"I know what you mean Ellie." Joel felt like he was talking to his daughter again. She had just gotten into dating before the outbreak, and she had gotten her heart broken once. He was there to comfort her, like he was for Ellie in that moment. He found himself making comparisons between Ellie and Sarah often. But no matter how much he tried to tell himself it was pointless, he still found himself doing it.

Ellie's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "What do you think about that, Joel?"

Joel hadn't heard what she said, having been lost in thought. "Sorry, what?"

"About the possibility of me finding a guy who's also immune."

Joel had told her that there were more immune people, but he knew it was a lie. He didn't know if Ellie knew, and he wasn't ready to blow that cover yet. "I suppose anythin's possible."

Joel had not been paying much attention to the music playing over the speakers, but when he heard a familiar guitar intro everything else seemed to get toned out. "Oh boy," he said. He recognized the song as "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and his mind became flooded with memories.

"What is it?" Ellie asked.

"It's this song." Joel paused before saying anything else. "Brings back a lot of memories."

Ellie knew all about how memories could be triggered by something simple. "Memories of what?"

Joel hesitated before answering. "Of my mother. She was killed in a car crash when I was nineteen. This song reminds me of her."

After the guitar had played for a while, the lyrics started. _My mama told me, when I was young. Come sit beside me, my only son._ "My mother played this song every day for me. It comforts me like a mother's lullaby comforts an infant." _And listen closely, to what I say. And if you do this, it'll help you some sunny day. Ah, yeah._

"The whole message of this song is a mother tellin' her son to just be simple and do anythin' that makes him happy. I think that's the best thing a mother can ever teach her kid." _Oh take your time. Don't live too fast. Troubles will come, and they will pass._ "After the accident, every time I heard this song I would think of her. I would think of how all she wanted of me was to just be a simple man. And how that all got screwed up by the fucking infection." _You'll find a woman, and you'll find love. And don't forget, son, there is someone up above._

He stopped talking so he and Ellie could listen to the lyrics. _And be a simple kind of man. And be something you love and understand. Baby, be a simple kind of man. _After listening to Joel's story and listening to the song, Ellie thought about how great it must have been to have a mother to want something so simple out of her child. Ellie never had that opportunity, and she felt envious of Joel. She could only guess what a mother's love felt like; Joel knew firsthand what it felt like. _Oh won't you do this for me son, if you can._ As the last line of the chorus was sung, Ellie looked over at Joel and saw his lips moving along to the words, but no sound was coming out.

"Don't be afraid to sing, Joel," she said as she nudged him playfully.

Joel just ruffled her hair and said "Keep dreamin' kid." Ellie looked up at him with her best puppy dog eyes and overly-exaggerated frown. "Don't even try. It ain't gonna work."

* * *

As the sun started to disappear behind the ridge, the whole town had gathered around the pile of wood that they would soon ignite to conclude the tenth anniversary celebration. Tommy held up a large piece of burning wood in one hand and the microphone in the other. He threw the burning branch into the pile and spoke into the microphone. "Let this symbolize the burning of our fear! And let hope replace it forever!" The crowd cheered as the fire spread among the pile of firewood, building into an energetic but controlled bonfire; the ultimate symbol of hope in a world where people had long abandoned the concept of hope.

* * *

Ellie and Joel were two of the last people to leave the party. By the time they got back to the house the sun had disappeared for the day, and Jackson was lit only by the streetlights placed regularly so there were no dark spots on the road.

"I had fun tonight," Ellie told Joel.

"I'm glad, kiddo." He took the key out of his pocket and stuck it in the lock of the door. They key slid in with no resistance like usual. "That ain't right," he said to himself. He thought about how that could possibly happen, and found that there was only one possible explanation. "Goddammit!" he grumbled.

Ellie was confused, as she should be. "What? What is it?"

Joel looked at her with anger in his eyes, but it was not directed at her. "Someone's broken into our house."

* * *

**That concludes chapter 5 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: A thief is discovered in Jackson.**

**Remember to leave a review.**


	6. Chapter 6: Thief

**Author's Notes: Yeah, I know I left on a cliffhanger, and I bet you're anxious to see what happens next. I was particularly looking forward to writing this chapter. I'm a massive fan of the actor Benedict Cumberbatch, especially his role as Sherlock Holmes in the TV series Sherlock, and I wanted to include a small tribute to that character in this chapter. To any Sherlock fans: I know I didn't do it justice, but like I said it's just a small tribute. **

**This will be the last of the "lighthearted" chapters, even though I wouldn't call this one lighthearted. What I mean is that starting next chapter the tone of this story will become much more serious. Just a heads up for the future. For now, enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters in this chapter, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 6: Thief

"Someone's broken into our house." The words immediately put Ellie back into survival mode, which she hadn't been in since arriving at Jackson. Joel forcefully opened the door and the two stormed in. He didn't know if the assailant was armed or if he was still even in the house. "Go into the kitchen and check on the food. I'll check upstairs."

Ellie ran over to the kitchen and opened the cabinet which contained all the food that was stocked in the house. It was empty. All their food was gone. Ellie went upstairs to tell the news to Joel. She walked into the bedroom and found him looking under the bed for their backpacks. "It's gone. All the food is fucking gone."

Joel stood up, furious. "Our bags are gone too." In his anger he picked a lamp off the nightstand and threw it against the wall. Ellie ran around to her side of the bed and lifted up the mattress. "What are you doin', Ellie?"

She pulled her pistol out from between the mattress and box spring. "He didn't think to look here."

Joel looked at her, puzzled. "What the hell was your gun doin' under the mattress?"

Ellie looked back and hesitated before answering. "Just in case," she said defensively. "Hey it paid off, didn't it?" she asked as she shrugged her shoulders

Joel sighed and turned away. "Yeah, I guess it did."

"My switchblade was in my bag though." The two stood in silence for a while. They didn't know what they were supposed to do. "Well, now what?"

Joel waited before answering, thinking about how they should handle this. "We… report this to Tommy and Maria. Hopefully they can sort this out." He was hoping that they would be able to catch whoever did this before their stuff was too far gone, but he didn't have a lot of faith. They didn't have anything to go on, until Ellie found something on the floor.

"Hey Joel…" She bent down and picked something up. "I found this."

Joel quickly walked around the bed to her to see what she had. "What is it?" He held out his hand, and Ellie placed a button in it.

"It's not much, but at least we have some evidence," she said.

Joel looked at it, and realized that they weren't much better off than they were before she found the button. She did have a point though; at least they had something to go on. He put the button in his pocket and heard someone enter the house. "Stay here." He walked out of the room and stopped at the top of the steps. "Who's down there?" he called out.

"It's Dean from next door," he replied. Joel went down the steps to see why he had come into their house. When Joel got downstairs Dean asked him "You guys get hit up too?"

Joel was confused at first as to what Dean meant when he said 'too'. Has the thief broken into other people's houses also? "What do you mean 'too'? Did you get robbed?"

"Not just us. With you saying you got hit up, that brings the total up to eight houses." Joel felt sick to his stomach after hearing that. _Who in their right mind would do something as low as this?_ "Come outside with me." Dean led Joel outside and saw that there was a large group of people outside. Joel assumed that these were the people that had been robbed. Dean called out to the group. "Hey! Joel and Ellie got hit up too!"

Someone in the group who Joel had not yet been introduced to responded. "Yeah, well you're not gonna believe this. The diner's been cleared out of all the canned food as well."

"Goddammit!" Dean was understandably fuming, as the whole town was. "Does Tommy know about this yet?"

"Barry went to report this to him. He should be back soon," Connie informed the group. "We have to catch whoever fucking did this. What if my son was there? Adrian's only six, he can't fend for himself."

Joel stepped in to reassure her. "We'll catch him. And besides, I don't think he had any intention of harmin' anyone.

"Why would someone do something like this?" she asked. "What is there to achieve by doing this?"

"I reckon someone just snapped," Joel weighed in. "Maybe someone ran low on supplies and they went off the deep end."

"There has to be some kind of motive," Dean said. "Nobody would do this just because 'they snapped.'"

Joel shrugged his shoulders. "Ya never know with some people."

Someone in the group turned to look down one of the streets and saw two people jogging towards them. "Barry and Tommy are coming." The group moved to meet up with the two men after Tommy was informed of the crime spree someone has committed in his town.

Tommy approached the group. "Now, you guys wanna tell me what the fuck's goin' on around here?"

Dean explained it to him. "During the party, someone hit up eight houses and the diner. Took any and all valuable supplies."

After hearing what Dean said, Tommy had to hold himself back from striking anyone out of anger. "Oh… that pisses me off to no end. Whoever did this has a whole new kind of hell comin' for 'em. You guys got any idea who mighta done this? Any witnesses?"

Someone in the group spoke up. "We've talked to almost the whole town, nobody saw anything."

Someone else chimed in as well. "Nine break-ins and no witnesses. We aren't dealing with a petty thief, this is a seasoned criminal."

"But do we have anythin' to go by? Any leads?" Tommy asked.

"Nothing," Connie said.

Joel remained silent for a brief moment, but felt like he needed to share the lone piece of evidence that they found. "I think I might've found somethin' to help with the investigation."

Tommy immediately and quickly came over to Joel. "Give it to me," he demanded.

Joel placed the button in his hand, and Tommy stood under the streetlight to get as good a look at it as he could. Surely there wasn't enough there to know who committed these burglaries, but that didn't stop Tommy. He examined every millimeter, every detail, taking note of everything. The button itself was faux brass. There were threads of denim still attached. The threads were dirty. There was a strand of something among the denim, but it was not any kind of fabric. Tommy's brain went like a computer that detectives would have used before the outbreak to analyze a piece of evidence looking for possible leads. He spent nearly a minute and a half looking at the button as the group waited with anticipation. He looked at the group, and with a smile and his face said "We got our thief." The rest of the group appeared to be stunned that he had made a conclusion with just that lone piece of evidence. "Alright, give me Joel, Dean, Travis, and Barry," he said as he turned to lead the group to the thief.

"You think you know who did this?" Travis asked.

"I don't think, I'm a hundred percent positive," he assured him.

"How can you know? It's just a button, what could that possibly tell you?"

Tommy gave the four men a rundown of his observations, and how he was able to connect them to one person. "The button is from a denim jacket, that's pretty obvious. How do I know it's a jacket? A button for jeans wouldn't be this big because it wouldn't be able to fit through that little hole."

Dean cut him off. "But there's lots of guys that wear denim jackets. You're wearing one right now."

Tommy continued explaining. "The jacket would have gotten a lotta wear for the button to just fall off on its own, so whoever wore it would have been doin' some manual labor. That narrows it down but not enough. There's dirt on the threads which means that they would have worked a dirty job like with the horses or in the crop fields. That narrows it down further. Dead giveaway: there's a strand of somethin' in with the denim but it ain't fabric. Upon closer look, it's a strand from a corn husk. They were workin' in the corn field, and there's only one person in town that wears a denim jacket every day and works in the cornfield."

The group basked in Tommy's brilliance to be able to determine who did it just from a button, and they all knew who had done it now. "Taylor!" Dean called out.

"Bingo," Tommy said.

"That son of a bitch. You know, I knew he wasn't right all along," Dean added.

"Yeah, I had suspicions about him ever since he showed up at the gate. Rightfully so it looks like. This is his house right here," he said as they approached a run-down single story house. It was probably the house in the worst condition in town. He stuck the button in his jacket pocket and went up to the door. He pounded on the door as hard as he could. "Taylor! Open the Goddamn door!"

"What the hell do you want, Tommy?!" Taylor called from inside.

"It's over! You're busted! Now open the door so you can answer for your crimes!"

"The fuck you goin' on about? I ain't committed no crimes!"

Tommy stepped to the side of the door. "Joel, kick the door down." Tommy got into a runner's stance as Joel kicked in the door. Taylor turned and made a break for the back door, but Tommy ran track in high school, and was easily able to catch him. He then used his wrestling training to put the larger man in a half-nelson before lifting him off his feet and slamming him down onto the hardwood floor face-first. A puddle of blood was left on the floor, along with a tooth. Tommy grabbed him by his jacket, dragged him out of the house, and threw him down the front steps. Taylor tried to make a break for it, but Dean and Travis blocked his path. "Where you goin' Taylor?"

The man turned towards Tommy with blood covering part of his face from where he was slammed into the ground. He was larger than Joel and about five years younger. He was completely bald on top, but what hair he had came down to just above his shoulders. "Tommy! You got a lotta balls comin' into my house and beatin' on me like that!"

"Oh, I got a lotta balls? You're the one who's broken into eight houses and the diner, and I got a lotta balls?"

"The fuck you goin' on about? I ain't broke into nowhere!"

Tommy slowly walked over to Taylor while reaching into his pocket. "No? Cause this was found at the most recent crime scene." He pulled the button out of his pocket, and held it up against the right cuff of Taylor's jacket. "Looks a lot like that button right there. Oh, look…" he moved the button over to the left cuff, which was missing a button. "…your left cuff is missing a button." Tommy threw the button on the ground at Taylor's feet, and took a couple steps back.

Taylor held up his hands, admitting defeat, and put them back down at his sides again. "Alright… ya caught me. But I can explain."

Tommy chuckled at that. "Really? You think you can defend your actions."

"Yeah, just hear me out."

Tommy folded his arms across his chest, and gestured with his right hand for Taylor to tell his story. "Go on. I'm all ears."

Taylor hesitated before starting his defense argument. "I did it for pills."

"I beg your pardon?"

Taylor put on a smile before he explained himself, hoping that it would help get Tommy on his side. "You know I used to run with a group of rogues before I settled here. I was addicted to pain pills, and while I wanted to leave that rogue life behind, I didn't want to leave the pills behind. So your barter guy, Paul, made a deal that I could trade supplies for pills. He'd give me my fix. I ain't had any pills in months and it's been drivin' me outta my mind. That's why I did it."

Tommy was awestruck, and not in a good way. He was awestruck at the sheer stupidity of Taylor and his defense, which he wasn't even sure if he heard correctly because it was so idiotic. "That is the worst defense I have ever heard."

"You ain't buyin' it?"

Tommy stepped forward. "You break into nine places, clean them out, and give me that story expectin' it to get me on your side?"

Taylor shrugged his shoulders. "More or less."

"You may be the stupidest son of a bitch I have ever met in my life."

Taylor was getting defensive. "C'mon Tommy. You have to see where I'm comin' from."

Tommy's voice was filled with anger now. "No, you see where I'm comin' from. I got a town to run, my town has laws. You just broke a bunch of those laws, and I won't have any of it."

"So what are you gonna do 'bout it?"

Tommy moved closer to Taylor until he was mere centimeters from his face. "Hit the road."

"You can't do that."

"Fuck yes, I can. This is _my_ _town_. _My_ _town_ has laws. When you break those laws you ain't welcome in _my_ _town_."

"I thought this place was founded on second chances. What happened to second chances?"

"You got your second chance when you stepped into the town. You don't get another second chance. I ain't gonna say it again, show yourself outta my town." Tommy turned and started walking away, when Taylor spoke up again.

"You're makin' a mistake."

Tommy stopped in his tracks, then turned around with his fists hanging by his sides. "You wanna run that by me again?"

"I said you're makin' a mistake…" the smile turned into a very serious, threatening expression. "…a big mistake."

Tommy looked down for a second before responding. "Nah. I don't think I am. Only mistake I ever made was… lettin' your rotten little bitch ass into my town in the first place." He was trying to goat Taylor into taking a swing at him. Tommy was just itching to beat him down, but he didn't want to initiate the scuffle.

"Don't test me, Tommy."

"I had my doubts about you all along. Probably because of that retarded-ass hair you got." He slowly started walking towards Taylor.

"Last warnin', Tommy!"

"You know, you're real cute when you're tryin' to sound threatening. Like a little puppy trying to sound vicious."

Taylor reached into his jacket and pulled out a 9 millimeter pistol aimed right at Tommy. Before anyone could grab him a shot rang out… but not from his gun. A bullet struck the hand holding the gun, severing his middle finger at the first knuckle. He fell to the ground, and the group turned to see Ellie standing with her gun raised. She lowered it and ran up next to Tommy. "Nice shootin' Ellie," he told her.

Dean and Travis grabbed Taylor by his arms and stood him up. Taylor turned to Ellie with a menacing look in his eyes. "You little psychotic bitch!"

"Look at yourself," Tommy said to Taylor. "You got part of your hand blown off by a little girl."

"That how it works, Tommy? Huh? You gonna let your people shoot each other but you throw a shitfest when I try to get a fix?"

Tommy didn't respond to Taylor. Instead he gave instructions to Dean and Travis. "Show him to the gate."

The two moved off with Taylor in their grasp, struggling and shouting. "You're gonna regret this, Tommy! I'll be back, I guarantee it!"

Tommy smiled at Taylor. "Lookin' forward to it. See ya 'round, Tay," he said as he waved to him.

Taylor was still screaming at the men holding him. "Let me go, fuckers. Let me fuckin' go!"

Joel walked up to Taylor and punched him in the jaw, knocking him unconscious.

Tommy went to pick up the gun Taylor pointed at him. He pulled the slide back to reveal that the gun was loaded, and the safety was off. Taylor was planning to use the gun all along. "Shit. That motherfucker wasn't bluffin'." He turned to Ellie as he took the gun. "Thanks for savin' my ass."

"It's my job," she simply said.

* * *

Joel and Ellie got back to their house with all their supplies in several bags. "I guess I should be glad you didn't listen to me," Joel told Ellie.

"You should have learned by now that I never do what you tell me to," she said playfully.

"Yeah, and that needs to change."

"Pssh," was her only response.

Joel stood there thinking about how he should tell Ellie about the mission he had the next day. In all the craziness with Taylor he had forgotten about it. "Ellie, there's somethin' I need to tell you."

She looked up at him, slightly worried about what he was going to say. "What is it?"

"Tommy had a whole thing planned where he and a group of some other guys were gonna go out to this building along the road and try and turn it into an outpost for guards. They need to clear the building out first, and I'm gonna be one of the guys to do it. I'll be gone most of the day, so you're gonna need to stay outta trouble."

Ellie did not like the thought of Joel being away for so long. "You can't go," she said.

"I don't have a choice, Ellie. I have to go because three of the guys backed out."

"What if something happens, Joel? What if you don't come back?" She was starting to cry. "If you die out there, I don't think I could go on. You're everything to me. You're the closest I've ever had to having an actual dad. I don't want to lose you."

Joel came over to her and gave her a hug. "I don't want to be away from you either, baby girl. I worry about you every time I'm away from you too. But I swear to you, I'll be back."

She hugged him and buried her face in his chest. Through the tears she was able to give a muffled reply. "Okay."

* * *

**That concludes chapter 6 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: The community of Jackson is rattled as tragedy strikes.**

**Don't forget to leave a review.**


	7. Chapter 7: Tragedy

**Author's Notes: Well, it can't all be happy happy sunshine and rainbows. Like I said earlier, people will die, and no character is safe from my wrath... muahahahaha!... *clears throat* oh... erm... sorry. But seriously, Joel and Ellie haven't left the world; the dangers are still very real. This chapter gets very dark, and it will introduce a new set of plots that will continue over the next several chapters. There will not be any "fun" chapters for a while, just letting you know.**

**Oh, and just something to look for in the future: I will incorporate some of my original lyrics into the story in a future chapter, so look for them.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters in this chapter, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 7: Tragedy

Joel had woken up extra early. In the 20+ years he went without an alarm clock, he had developed a precise internal clock. He needed to get up early to get a head start on the day. He was not looking forward to the day that lay ahead. This would be he and Ellie's first true test since settling in Jackson. How would they manage being away from each other all day? Joel worried every time he was away from Ellie. What if something happened to her and he was not around to protect her? He knew he had nothing to worry about, but he couldn't help it. He already was well aware of how Ellie felt about being alone. He had promised her that he would come back safe, and he did not intend to break that promise.

Ellie was still asleep. He walked around to her side of the bed and put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently to wake her up. "Ellie, I know it's early but it's time to get up."

She rubbed her hands against her eyes and sat up slowly. She looked out the window to see that the sun had not fully risen yet. "Why'd you wake me up so early?" she asked, slightly irritated that she couldn't sleep it.

"We gotta eat breakfast early so I can be ready to leave for the scavenging run."

Ellie had forgotten about that, and she did not like being reminded. "Shit, I forgot that was today." She stood up and walked over to Joel by the window.

"Listen kiddo, I know don't like bein' alone, but you have to just for today."

"It's not that I'll have a problem being alone today, it's that I'm worried you won't come back." She looked up at him with a sad expression on her face.

Joel put an arm around her shoulders and reassured her he'd be fine. "Ellie, I told you I'd be back safe. You don't have to worry about me."

She didn't doubt him, but, like Joel worried about her in the back of his mind, she also worried about him. "I know," she said.

* * *

After breakfast, Joel and Ellie met at the stables with the other men and the families of those men who were going. Accompanying Joel would be Tommy, Barry, John, and Mike. Ellie had met Barry at Brenda's house when she was attending to his son Adrian, John had helped get their shower working, and she had not met Mike yet.

Tommy and Maria had just finished sharing a long embrace when Ellie and Joel got there. Tommy came over to Joel and put a hand on his shoulder. "You ready to do this?"

Joel really wasn't, but he didn't have much of a choice. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Tommy let go and Joel turned around to face Ellie. Before he could say anything she threw herself against him and wrapped her arms tightly around his midsection.

"Promise me you'll be safe, Joel."

He returned the hug, but not as tightly to avoid hurting her. "Like always." Ellie did not respond, but continued holding on to him tight, even after he had let go. "Ellie, you can let go now." She didn't let go. "Ellie…"

Maria interjected by grabbing Ellie's shoulders and gently pulling her away. "Ellie, you need to let him go. He'll be fine."

Ellie turned to her right to see Barry saying goodbye to his wife and kid. "Now listen little man," he said to Adrian as he squatted down to get at his eye level, "I'm gonna be out most of the day, so I need to be real good for Mommy. Can you do that, buddy?"

"Yes daddy," Adrian said.

Barry ruffled Adrian's curly brown hair and gave him a big hug. He let go and stood up to give his wife Connie a kiss. "Be careful out there," she told him.

"Of course," he said as he held her closely.

He turned to walk towards the stables when Adrian called out to him. "Daddy!"

Barry turned to face him. "What is it, my man?"

Adrian grinned and said "Give them hell."

Connie scolded him under her breath for his language, but her husband just laughed. "I will, little buddy."

Ellie couldn't help but chuckle at that last exchange. Joel gave Ellie one last quick hug before turning to head to the stables himself. After he had gone into the stables to get his horse, Maria came over to Ellie and put an arm around her shoulders.

"You gonna be okay while he's gone?"

Ellie thought about it for a while. Though she was worried in the back of her mind, she knew she didn't have a real reason to be. "I think so."

* * *

While Joel was out for the day, Ellie decided to take the opportunity to explore the woods around Jackson. Maria had assured her that if she stayed below the ridge she was in no danger. She had a radio and her knife with her; she didn't feel like she needed to take her pistol. She didn't know what she was looking for and she wasn't following any path. She just went. After she had been exploring for a while she spotted a rock outcropping just below the ridge. It was a small cliff with about a twelve foot drop-off and conveniently no trees in front of it. She figured it would provide a fantastic view. She quickly hustled to get on the outcropping and when she got to the edge, what greeted her was stunning. The view of the valley the ledge provided made her jaw drop, and she sat down on the edge dangling her feet off to take the time to soak in the view. She looked off at the snow-covered mountains in the distance, the town below, and all around the valley, admiring every little nuance of the view. _You can't deny that view._ She was so absorbed in the view that she had lost track of time. She was off in her own world when Maria's voice over the radio brought her back.

"Ellie, are you okay?" Ellie could hear worry in Maria's voice. _Why's she worried? I'm fine. I haven't been out long._

She took the radio off of her belt and answered. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Maria's answer shocked her. "You've been out there for over three hours and I haven't heard from you. I thought something may have happened."

"I've… been out here like forty minutes. Where are you getting three hours from?"

"Look at where the sun is in the sky."

Ellie looked up towards the sun without looking directly at it to protect her eyes. She could see that it had moved past its vertex and it was after noon. "I… guess it has been three hours. I must have lost track of time."

"Where are you anyway?"

"I found this little cliff with a… fucking awesome view. I guess I should come back to town now though."

"Yes, you should. I was starting to worry."

Ellie put the radio back on her belt and slid off the edge. While she was in the air she thought about whether or not she would regret the decision. When she landed without breaking her ankles, she got her answer. She walked into a dense part of the forest on her way back to town, and as she made her way through she could hear leaves rustling behind her. Without stopping she turned back a couple of times to try and see what it was, finding nothing every time. When the footsteps seemed to be following her and getting closer she stopped to listen. She did not turn around, but she could definitely hear something or someone following her. "Maria, I don't think I'm alone out here," she said into the radio.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm hearing someone walking behind me. I can't see who or what because there's a lot of trees."

"You have your gun with you, right?"

Ellie silently cursed herself when Maria asked that. She didn't take her gun because Maria said she was in no danger. It was looking like she was wrong. "No, I only brought my knife. If whoever's following me has a gun then I'm fucked."

"Just get to the wall quickly. If the guards get a shot they'll take it."

Ellie kept the radio out but began speed walking towards the wall. As her speed quickened, so did the speed of her pursuer. "Maria, they're getting closer!"

"Just haul ass, Ellie!" Ellie started running as fast as she could to get away from the unknown follower. "Can you get a visual on who it is?"

Ellie glanced back a couple times while running, trying not to run into a tree full speed. She still could not see anything, but the footsteps were in a sprint just as she was. "No, the forest is thick and I – ahh!" She wasn't looking where she was going and fell off a small ledge. She fell forward and hit her head square against a thick tree root, causing her to see a bright flash and then many stars. For several seconds she was unable to move, while Maria was talking over the radio in a panic.

"Ellie, what happened?" Ellie was unable to respond, she could only listen to her voice. "Ellie! Ellie, are you okay?!" She moved to pick up the radio but still could not speak yet. "Ellie, if you're able to respond please let me know you're okay!"

Finally she could speak. "I'm fine. I fell and hit my head."

"You need to get up and get out of there!"

As Maria said that, Ellie heard the footsteps closing in on her, closer and closer. "Too late. They've found me." Ellie's voice became choked up with fear.

"Ellie, stand your ground!" As Maria said that, her pursuer revealed himself: a twelve point buck. "I'm sending some guards out there!"

Ellie breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she saw that it was just a deer. Her heart was beating at well over 200 beats per minute, and each beat was painful in her chest. "False alarm. It's a… deer."

Maria waited before responding. "Ellie, don't ever fucking do that again." There was distinct anger in her voice, and still a hint of fear indicating that it had not worn off yet.

"Hey, I didn't know until just now."

"Ellie, this isn't funny! I was scared out of my mind!"

"You think you were scared?" Ellie laughed. "I think my chest has bruised from the inside out from my heart beating so much. I really thought I was gonna die just now."

Maria sighed. "How's your head?"

Ellie was confused. Her fear had made her forget that she hit her head. "My head?"

"You said that you hit your head, how is it?"

As Maria reminded her, so did the throbbing pain. "Oh, right." She put her hand to the right side of her head where it smashed against the tree root, and when she took it away her fingertips were covered in blood. "I'm bleeding… and my vision's pretty blurry."

"Do you feel nauseous?"

"A little bit."

"Sounds like you have a concussion. Get back to town and have Brenda take a look at you."

"That's what I'm doing." She tried to stand up and immediately felt extremely dizzy. She dropped down to her hands and knees. "Woah," she said while still on the radio with Maria.

"Ellie, are you okay?"

"Yeah." Her voice was weak. "I'm just a little lightheaded…" Her head began swimming more and more, and the dizziness intensified. "…really lightheaded."

"Can you get back to town?"

"I should be able to. I just need to… I just…"

"Ellie, stay with me." Her body became limp and she fell over onto her side. Again was unable to move or speak. "Ellie, can you hear me?" As she laid there, the world around her slowly faded to black. "Ellie? Ellie!"

* * *

"This floor's clear," Joel said as he emerged from one of the rooms he was checking out. They were in a compound consisting of three buildings. They had cleared out the first building and were on the second now.

"Mike, John, check the basement. Barry, check upstairs." Tommy was calling all the shots on this mission. Anything he told the men to do, they did without question.

Joel stood still, lost in thought. The whole time he had been out he was thinking about Ellie. He couldn't stop thinking about her. If he didn't make it back, how would she handle it? If he got back to town and something terrible happened to her, how would he handle it? No matter how much he told himself that Ellie was fine, a nagging voice in his head told him that she wasn't. His mind then drifted to what he wanted to avoid thinking about most. What would happen if Ellie were to die? After losing Sarah, would he be able to continue if he lost Ellie as well? He tried as hard as he could to brush these thoughts away because he knew they were stupid to think about, but they kept coming back. He was snapped out of it when Tommy put a hand on his shoulder. "You worryin' about Ellie?"

Joel let out a long sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "I can't help it. What if somethin' bad happens and I ain't around to protect her?"

Tommy shook his head. "You need to get that out of your head. Ain't nothin' gonna happen to her."

"I didn't say somethin' would happen. I said _what if_ somethin' happened?"

"Like what?"

Joel stood in silence trying to think of a hypothetical scenario that could happen. He couldn't think of anything and didn't respond.

"See? You can't even think of somethin'. That proves that you're worryin' about nothin'." Tommy began to walk away, but then Joel continued on the conversation that Tommy was trying to stop.

"It ain't completely out of the question though."

Tommy turned sharply and walked back over to Joel. "Alright. It's time to drop this conversation. You're bein' foolish and it's time to stop discussin' this."

Suddenly they heard a ruckus coming from upstairs. "Fuck!" Barry screamed, then two blasts from a shotgun rang out. Tommy and Joel immediately ran upstairs to where they heard the commotion. Barry was standing there with two runners on the floor in front of him. One had its head blown to pieces, the other had been disemboweled from the shotgun. "There were two runners up here. They scared the shit outta me but they didn't get me."

"Check him for bites," Tommy ordered. The two searched every inch of Barry's body that the runners could have bitten. Their thorough scan revealed that he had indeed not been bitten. "He's clean."

"You okay, Barry?" Joel asked.

"Yeah, just a bit shaken up."

John and Mike then ran up the stairs to give their report on the basement search. "Basement's clear," Mike informed them.

"We're done with this building. Move on to the last one, then we'll patrol the surroundin' areas to make sure it's clear. Let's go Barry."

"Right behind you." The other four men walked down the stairs, but Barry remained where he was. He was afraid. He was not just afraid, he was in fear for his life. He had not been bitten, but some of the infected blood got into his mouth when he blew the head off one of the runners. He gulped in fear, but eventually followed the other men out of the building.

* * *

Ellie was woken up by the searing burn of alcohol on the cut on her forehead. She screamed and writhed in pain as she lay in a bed in Brenda's house.

"Here grab my arm," Nicky offered an arm for Ellie to squeeze to help fight the pain. She grabbed onto her arm and held it in a death grip. "Ow! Easy, you're stronger than I am!"

"Sorry! Fuuuck!"

"I know this hurts but you should watch your mouth," Brenda said as she cleaned Ellie's cut with an alcohol soaked rag.

Ellie managed to grit her teeth to avoid screaming. Maria was standing at the foot of the bed, and Ellie looked right at her. "How long was I out?"

"It was a little less than an hour between when I lost you on the radio to when you woke up. I don't think you realize how scared you had me."

"Sorry," Ellie said, genuinely apologetic.

"You have a concussion," Brenda informed her. "You're going to be having headaches for a while so you need to take it easy. You're also going to need some stitches for your head."

Ellie grimaced at the thought of needles repeatedly digging into her skin. "I hate fucking needles."

Brenda looked at her angrily. She hated hearing that kind of language come from a kid's mouth.

"Sorry… freaking… I hate freaking needles."

"That's better."

She put on her best puppy dog face and looked at Maria. She was really good at guilting people into giving her what she wanted. "Can you not tell Joel how I busted my head open?"

"What do you want me to tell him?"

Without hesitating, she thought of something. "Tell him I tripped on the stairs."

Maria smiled. "Sure thing."

* * *

The men arrived back at Jackson shortly after dinner time ended. At the stables waited the families of the people on the mission. Maria was waiting for Tommy, John's wife Jenna was waiting for him, Barry's wife Connie was there, Mike's girlfriend Heather was there, but Joel did not see Ellie. He was worried that his fear of something happening to Ellie had come true. He got off the horse and looked around for her, but did not see her. "Ellie!" he called out. He went over to Maria, who was giving her husband a big hug. "Maria, where's Ellie? Is she at the house?"

"Actually she's at Brenda's. She tripped down the stairs and hit her head."

Joel put a hand over his mouth. _Goddammit, I knew something would happen._ "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She has a concussion and needed some stitches though. Tell her to get a lot of rest, she'll need it."

"I'll be sure to do that."

Connie went over to embrace Barry. "Welcome back, Barry-"

Barry cut her off and pushed her away when she tried to hug him. "Yeah, I'm glad to see you too but I had a really rough day. I need some time to myself." He brushed past her and walked back to their house.

"But, Barry! You just got back and-"

He cut her off again and turned back to her as he continued walking away. "Just… give me some space. Okay?"

Connie stood there in shock at how her husband brushed her off. "Yeah… sure thing…" She went over to Joel, Maria, and Tommy. "Did something happen to Barry out there?"

"He got attacked by some runners," Joel informed her.

"Oh my God," she gasped.

"Relax, he didn't get bit. He's fine, he's probably just a bit shaken up from the encounter. Give him the space he needs tonight."

She paused for a long time, letting what Joel said soak in. "Okay… sure."

* * *

Joel walked into Brenda's house to find Ellie lying in one of the beds in the back. She had her eyes closed when he first opened the door, probably trying to take a nap, but opened them when Joel walked in. A big smile spread across her face. "Hey, Joel!"

Joel walked over to the bed. "Hey, kiddo. You okay?"

Ellie nodded. "I'm fine. My shoelace was untied and I tripped down the stairs. I got knocked out by it but now I'm fine."

He brushed her bangs aside to inspect the cut. It was about an inch long going horizontally across her forehead with five stitches holding it shut. "Well, I'm grateful. Try not to be such a klutz next time."

She giggled. "I'll try."

Brenda walked in and greeted Joel with a wave and a smile. "Is she good to come home with me?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's good. Make sure she takes it easy. Concussions are nothing to take lightly."

"Yeah, I know." He turned to Ellie. "You ready to go, kid?"

"Yeah," she said as she stood up.

* * *

The two were woken up the next morning by a commotion outside. They could hear Connie yelling at someone, but were unable to hear exactly what she was saying. "What's going on out there?" Ellie asked.

"Somethin's goin' on with Connie; apart from that I got no idea. I'm gonna go see what all the commotion's about. You stay here, I mean it." He grabbed his revolver from his bag and went outside and over to Connie's house. When he got there he could see Tommy, John, and Mike standing outside. "What's goin' on out here?"

Tommy spoke up first. "Connie said that Barry started actin' up. He was shoutin' at her and actin' aggressive towards her."

"Goddammit," Joel said to himself.

"Joel, you don't… you don't think Barry's…"

Joel knew what Tommy was trying to say, but he brushed it off. "No, course not. We all saw he had no bites. He was probably just traumatized by what happened."

"Well I don't wanna take any chances. Go in there and get the kid outta there."

Just then Adrian opened the door and ran out with Barry chasing him. Barry had blood dripping out of his nose, mouth, and eyes, and had growths on his face. "Fucking hell!" Joel screamed as he reached for his revolver. As he took it out of his waistband, he fumbled it. Adrian tripped on the front steps and Barry fell on top of him, grabbing his legs. Joel managed to grab the revolver, kick Barry off of the kid, and shot him twice in the head. "He was infected!"

"I fuckin' knew it!" Tommy screamed.

"He had no bites though!" Joel said.

"Oh shit…" Mike said. "…the kid."

Joel looked at the back of Adrian's leg and saw a clear bite mark. "Jesus Christ." He had been marked for death. He was only six years old, half Sarah's age when she passed. "Kid, I am so sorry about this."

Adrian stood up and remained silent. He was taking the knowledge that he only had moments to live fairly well. He was not crying, or showing any emotion at all for that matter.

Connie came running up from the distance. "Barry!"

"Shit," Joel said. He turned and ran out to meet Connie and keep her away. He put his hands on her shoulders and blocked her from getting too close.

"What happened to Barry? Is Barry okay?"

Joel looked Connie in the eyes. "Connie, listen to me and try not to panic. Barry was infected."

Connie recoiled upon hearing the news. "Oh my God."

"He turned and went after your son."

"Is Adrian okay? Joel, is my fucking baby okay?!"

Joel hesitated. This was news nobody ever wanted to break to anyone. "Adrian was bitten."

Her knees buckled slightly, then she turned to run past Joel. Joel held onto her to prevent that from happening. "NOOOO! Adrian!"

"Connie, you need to stay back!"

She stopped resisting and went into a panic. "Oh… we have to do something… we have to…"

"There's only one thing we can do, Connie." Again, he hesitated, feeling empathy for her. "He has to be put down."

She stepped backwards and started crying. "No. I won't let you do that."

"I know." He took his revolver out of his waistband and held it out to her handle first.

"What?" she asked faintly.

"I figure he's your kid… you should be the one to do it."

Her sadness turned to anger at his suggestion to kill her own son. She shoved the hand holding the gun away from her. "No! I'm not shooting my fucking son!"

"Okay." He looked at her and then to Dean, who had come up behind her to see what was going on. "Then I will. Hold her back, Dean."

She lashed out at Joel as Dean grabbed her from behind. "NO! NO! Don't fucking do it!" Joel ignored her screaming and continued walking towards Adrian. "You do anything to my son, I'll FUCKING KILL YOU!" He walked up to Adrian and stood beside him. "STOP!" He put an apologetic hand on his head for a brief moment, and raised the gun. "WAIT! WAIT, STOP! I'LL DO IT!" Joel turned to face her. She had stopped struggling and had accepted the fact that it would be best to put Adrian down herself. "I'll do it." He lowered the gun and gestured to Dean to let her go. She slowly walked over to Joel and took the gun from him. Joel stepped aside as she faced her son. She got down to his level and hugged him. "Adrian, baby, I am so sorry about this."

"Mommy, I don't wanna die," he said, clearly scared.

"I know, and I don't want to do this but I have no choice. I'm only doing this because I love you, and I don't want to see you turn into one of those monsters." She let go and took a step back. "Close your eyes for me, baby."

Adrian closed his eyes like his mom said. She raised the gun after he did. She didn't want her son to have to stare down the barrel that would inevitably kill him. Tears were flooding down her face, and the gun was shaking in her hands. Although the gun was only a mere foot from his head, her hands were shaking so much that she could still miss when she pulled the trigger. After a long hesitation, she pulled the trigger. A shot rang out, and Adrian fell to the ground. It was over.

The gun fell from her hands onto the ground, and she threw herself onto the ground next to the bodies of her husband and only child. "NOOOOOOOO!" She wrapped her arms around Adrian and held him close. "ADRIAN! I'm so sorry!" Mike moved in to separate her from her son's body and was met with strong resistance. "LET ME GO! LET ME FUCKING GO!"

"Take her inside, let her cool off," Joel told him. As Tommy took Connie back into her house and closed the door, Joel turned around to see Ellie standing there. The look on her face was in between horrified, saddened… and guilty. Joel sighed, and Ellie turned around and ran back to the house. Joel walked over to his brother who was inspecting the bodies.

"We'll give 'em a proper burial. Or at least as proper as we can," he said.

"Yeah. I gotta go check on Ellie, she's gonna real shaken up from this."

"You go do that."

* * *

Ellie was sitting with her feet up on the couch. She was holding her knees in tight to her body, staring at the far wall. She did not react when Joel walked through the door. She did not speak, look at him, or give any indication that she acknowledged his presence. Joel walked over to her and put his hand on her back, gently rubbing in circles. "That's why I told you to stay. You didn't need to see that. I know it's hard to watch somethin' like that but you gotta let it go. Ain't nothin' we coulda done."

She still sat there staring at the wall. It was not until several seconds after Joel walked away that she spoke up. "It could have been prevented…" Joel stopped and turned to face her. He had no idea what she meant by that. "…if there was a cure."

Joel simply shook his head. "I told you, it was a lost cause. That whole operation was doomed from the start."

Ellie was in denial. She knew what he said wasn't true. The Fireflies wouldn't just give up on trying to save the world. There could have been a cure, there should have been a cure, Barry and Adrian should not have died. She chose to shrug the thought aside; it was only making her more depressed. "Right."

* * *

Joel and Ellie had stayed after dinner to help clean up. They were second to last to leave, with only Tommy and Maria staying later. As they walked out onto the street Joel caught sight of Connie standing alone in the church cemetery. He stopped, and Ellie bumped into him. "Why'd you stop?" She turned to look at what he was looking at. "Is that Connie?"

"Ellie, get back to the house now," he promptly ordered. "I need to go talk to her."

"Joel…"

"Just go." Ellie cooperated and started heading back to the house. Joel approached Connie in the cemetery standing in between the graves of Barry and Adrian. Joel went up to her gently. "Connie…"

She faced him and jumped back, pulling out a pistol and pointing it at him. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Joel put his hands up, showing her that he was not trying to hurt her. "Take it easy, Connie. I'm not tryin' to hurt you; I'm tryin' to help."

"You can help by GETTING THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME AND LETTING ME DIE!"

"I can't do that."

Connie stopped shouting, and instead started crying. Her gun was still pointed at Joel "My family is… dead."

"I know, so is mine." She lowered the gun slightly, but still had it pointing in his direction. "I lost my daughter twenty years ago. She was the only thing I had. I know how it feels to lose everything you love. And like you I thought it might me better to end it. But I didn't because I knew there was still a purpose for me, and there still is for you too."

She lowered the gun a little more. She could tell he was truly empathetic, and he was being reasonable.

Joel slowly moved over to her, like when walking up to a wild animal to avoid startling it. "Give me the gun before you do something irreversible."

When she felt that Joel got too close, she stepped back and raised the gun again.

"Take it easy, Connie!"

"YOU CAN'T HELP ME JOEL!"

"Alright, fine, end yourself right now. You won't have to live without your family any more, but you'll go outta this world a coward. Is that how you want your family to see you?" That question seemed to work more than anything he had tried previously, as Connie again lowered the gun slightly. "Do you want them to see you as a coward who gave up when faced with adversity? Or do you want them to see you as someone who fought those adversities and won?" She lowered the gun a little more, still in tears. "It's your choice."

She held the gun up and looked at it. She was weighing the pros and cons of taking her life. She didn't want to live without the only two people she loved, but Joel was right. She would shame herself in their eyes if she took the coward's way out. She let the gun fall to the ground and buried her face in her hands. Joel walked up to her and wrapped her in his arms. She hugged him back tightly, crying into his chest. "Oh, Joel…"

"I know, hon, I know. It's gonna be okay. I made it through losing my family and you can too."

"How, Joel? How can I make it through this?"

"You just fight. Any voice that tells you to give up, fight it. Any voice that tells you it ain't worth livin', fight it."

She didn't respond, and instead continued crying into his chest.

* * *

Joel arrived back at the house and saw Ellie sitting on the couch. "Is Connie gonna be okay?"

Joel nodded, even though he wasn't entirely sure she would be. "Yeah. She just needed someone to talk to."

Joel sat down next to Ellie and held her close to him. "Don't let this get to ya too much, kiddo."

"I'll try," she said.

* * *

**That concludes chapter 7 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: Cracks begin to appear in Joel and Ellie's relationship.**

**Don't forget to leave a review.**


	8. Chapter 8: Betrayal

**Author's Notes: I have to say I'm disappointed with the lack of reviews for the last chapter. Look, I'm not trying to sound needy or pushy, but if I'm not getting feedback I assume that means you guys don't like the story. If that's the case, I don't exactly feel motivated to continue. Feedback is what keeps me motivated and keeps the story going. I've got some big and bold ideas for the story that I don't want to go to waste, so I need motivation. So please, leave something, even if it's only a single sentence.**

**Now, about this chapter. As you can imagine, seeing what happened to Barry and Adrian in the last chapter would be really hard for Ellie. Like Riley, Tess and Sam, she probably feels responsible for them as well. This is going to cause some tension between her and Joel because of the whole lying about the cure thing. I'm not saying any more, you'll have to read and find out. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters in this chapter, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 8: Betrayal

Ellie awoke with a gasp. It was early, the sun was barely over the ridge and Joel was still asleep next to her. Her heart was racing and she was sweating considerably, despite the room being chilly. The whole night had been filled with flashes of horrible memories. Memories of Riley's death, Tess's, Sam's, and most recently Barry and Adrian's. Their final moments replaying over and over in her head the entire night. She got out of bed and walked over to the window, and looked out over the town reflecting on her life.

_I should have died with Riley at the mall. But instead I had to watch her suffer, slowly losing her mind while I was powerless to do anything about it. Then the same happened to Tess, Sam, Adrian, and Barry. Why should I have had to watch all those people suffer the fate that should have been my own? _

She rolled up her sleeve to look at the bite mark on her arm. It was a permanent reminder of all the pain she watched those people go through when she shouldn't have. Her immunity wasn't a blessing, as Marlene said it was. It was a curse, a burden. And the scar on her arm served as a monument to the burden she must bear for the rest of her life, however long that would be. A year? Five? Ten? Twenty? Sometimes she wished the end would come sooner rather than later, so she wouldn't have to bear her burden any more.

Her mind went back to Joel's lie. Joel had said there were dozens of people that were immune and that the Fireflies had stopped looking for a cure. She didn't believe any of it. She could always push it to the back of her mind, but after Barry and Adrian's deaths she couldn't suppress that thought anymore. She had had enough; she needed to know the truth.

* * *

She sat on the couch downstairs for hours waiting for Joel to wake up. When she heard him finally coming down the stairs she thought about how she would initiate the conversation. He got to the bottom and turned to Ellie on the couch. "Mornin' kiddo." She glanced at him, but did not speak. "Rough night?" Again, she did not speak, and stared blankly at the wall on the opposite side of the room. Joel came over to the couch. "Ellie, if somethin's botherin' you, I can help. But you need to open up to me."

"You want me to open up?" she snapped. She stood up off the couch confrontationally causing Joel to take a step backwards. "Fine," her voice was raised. "But you need to open up first. Tell me what really happened at Salt Lake City."

Joel was taken off guard by her assertion. She had never spoken to him in that way before. "Ellie, I told you what happened-"

"Bullshit! You were lying, Joel. I've known the whole time, I just didn't say anything because I trusted you and I knew that trusting you gave me the best chance to have a normal life. But I can't just ignore it any more after watching Barry and Adrian die, so you're going to tell me what really happened. And you better not fucking lie this time. Just saying 'I swear' isn't enough. You need to…" she stood up as straight as she could and looked him dead in his eye. "Swear on your daughter."

That pushed Joel over the edge. He walked up to her aggressively, causing her to backpedal. "Don't you bring up Sarah at a time like this! You are real close to crossing a line that…" He stopped himself before he did anything too rash. He could see that he had scared Ellie a bit with the outburst. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I shouldn't have lost my temper."

"No, it's okay. I shouldn't have said that." She shook her head as if to scold herself. She should have known that bringing up Sarah was a low blow. "But I don't take anything else back."

Joel spoke in a much softer voice now. "No, you're right. I did lie to you. But I only did it to protect you."

Ellie wasn't buying it. "Protect me from fucking what?"

"The truth. I knew the truth was too horrible for you to accept at the time. But… now you're gonna hear the truth… but you ain't gonna like it. Sit down." Ellie sat down on the far left cushion on the couch, and Joel sat next to her in the middle. He folded his hands in his lap as he prepared to tell her the truth. "Do you remember when we were in the tunnel with the rushing water?"

"Yeah, I fucking fell in. How could I forget that?"

Joel paused. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain the next part in a way she would understand. "When I pulled you out you were… technically you were... dead."

Ellie had no idea what he meant when he said that. "What do you mean I was dead? I'm still here aren't I?"

"You weren't breathin', and you had no heartbeat."

She understood a little bit now, but she didn't know what this had to do with what happened at the hospital. "Okay. So what does that have to do with the Fireflies?"

"I'm gettin' there. I tried to revive you, but these two Fireflies came up to me and knocked me out. I woke up on a bed in the hospital, Marlene was sittin' next to me. She told me that they had brought you back, and I was really relieved. But when I asked to see you, she said I couldn't. You were bein' prepped for surgery."

"Surgery? For what?"

Joel hesitated again. "To get the cure… they would have had to cut out your brain. No way in hell I was gonna let that happen."

Ellie grew concerned over where this was going. "What did you do?"

Joel hesitated much longer this time. This was the part he feared telling her the most. "Massacre. Anyone who stood between me and you… I killed them. Even Marlene."

"Everyone?" she asked worriedly.

"Fuckin' everyone."

Joel looked at Ellie and saw that she was afraid. She stood up quickly and stepped away from him. "Fuck, Joel! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

Joel was surprised at her reaction. "The hell I do, I saved you."

"Well, did it cross your mind that maybe I didn't want to be saved?"

Surely she didn't mean that. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"There would have been a cure, Joel. We had a chance to save mankind."

"Ellie, did you hear what I said? You would have died. They didn't even give you a choice."

"It's what I would've chosen."

"You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do."

Joel lowered his voice and tried to reason with her gently. "Ellie, look me in the eyes." She did as he instructed, looking him right in the eye. "Now, can you tell me… honest to God… that you would have let yourself die given the choice?"

She hesitated, still maintaining firm eye contact. "It would have been for a greater cause. I would've done it without second thought."

"Well then I'm glad you weren't given that choice. Because there is no way I was gonna lose you."

Ellie snapped again. "Joel, this isn't about you! It isn't about me either!"

"Then who's it about?"

"Mankind," she said without hesitation. "Joel, we could have saved mankind."

Joel shook his head. "Mankind ain't worth savin'."

Ellie's voice was still raised. "That's bullshit and you know it."

"I've seen the lows mankind can reach. I've seen how mankind can destroy each other. If you'd seen what I've seen, you'd see that it ain't worth savin'."

Ellie became very defensive. "So are you trying to say the people of Jackson aren't worth saving? What about Tommy and Maria? Are they not worth saving?" She was crying at this point. "And besides, getting the cure meant more to me than you could ever know. Ever since Riley died, all I've wanted was to find some kind of closure. And then when Tess and Sam died, it made me want it even more. The only way for me to get that closure was for a cure to be made, even if it meant I had to die for it. Now, thanks to you… I can never have that closure. I'll have to live with this guilt for the rest of my life. And I'll have this…" she rolled up her sleeve, showing Joel the scar on her arm. "…every day for the rest of my life to remind me that they didn't have to have died in vain. Don't you see Joel… the only person you helped by getting me out of there was yourself. You didn't think about me at all."

Joel was shocked by her speech. He wanted to believe that she didn't mean any of it, and that it was just her emotions talking, but she sounded serious during all of it. He tried to reason with her and calm her down. "Ellie…" he moved to her slowly, trying to be rational with her.

"Stay away from me!" she screamed as she ran upstairs.

Joel followed her. "Ellie…"

"Leave me alone!" She ran into the bedroom and slammed the door, locking it.

Joel banged on the door. "Ellie, unlock the damn door!"

"Go away!"

Joel decided it would be best to let her calm down, but he was still angry at the way she reacted. "Fine, I'll leave you alone. But just remember that you wanted to hear the truth! You brought this on yourself!" He banged hard on the door one more time before turning and walking downstairs.

Ellie sat up against the door crying. All along Joel was the reason there was no cure. He had saved her against her will, and now she wished more than ever that she actually had died with Riley. For the first time, she felt like she couldn't trust Joel anymore. She felt betrayed, and she couldn't bear it anymore. She had been bent, and bent, and bent, and she had finally broken. She stood up and walked around to the other side of the bed and grabbed her pistol out from under the mattress. She made sure it was loaded and tucked it in the waistband of her jeans.

* * *

Joel sat on the couch thinking about the conversation he had with Ellie. If she wasn't lying about not wanting to be saved, it made Joel feel like he had let her down. But at the same time, even if she had been happy with it, he knew he wouldn't have been able to go on without her. He heard her come storming down the stairs and walked quickly to the front door. "Where do you think you're going?"

"For a walk." She opened the door and turned back to him. "And I don't want you to follow me!" She slammed the door shut. Joel didn't even try to stop her. He thought if she needed time alone, he should let her have it. He sat there for about fifteen minutes before he heard a knock at the door. He got up to answer it and saw Tommy standing there.

"Did you tell Ellie she could go for a joy ride?"

Joel looked at his brother confused. "What the hell do you mean?"

"I asked Ellie where she was goin' and she said she was gonna see if she could take one of Andrew's horses for a joy ride. When I asked if you gave her permission, she just ignored me."

Joel stood for a moment before he realized what she had done. "Goddammit! Not this shit again!"

He turned to run upstairs and Tommy followed him. "Are you thinkin' she ran off again?"

"That's exactly what she did." He ran into the bedroom and grabbed his revolver out of his bag.

"Why the hell would she do that now?"

"We had an argument. I'm leavin' it at that and I ain't sayin' a damn thing more."

* * *

They rode out of the gate and up the road chasing after Ellie. The first time she rode off she managed to narrowly escape a bandit ambush. Joel feared she wouldn't be as lucky this time. The greater fear was that something would happen to her by her own design. After what she said about wishing she had died, he feared that she would ride somewhere isolated and… he didn't want to think about it any further than that. They kept their eyes on the road while also scanning for tracks going into the woods, without seeing anything. They had ridden for miles without finding any sign of her or the horse. "We're getting' close to the outpost at this point," Tommy said. Sure enough, less than two minutes later, they got to it. They stopped out in front to ask one of the men if he had seen her come through.

"Have you seen a girl on a horse come through here?" Joel asked nervously.

"Yeah, about ten minutes ago. She came through real fast; she could be miles away by now."

"We gotta keep goin'," Joel said.

They rode a little bit further and Joel heard a sound that made his stomach drop… a gunshot in the woods. "Mother of God," he said to himself.

"Joel, you hear that?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, I heard it." They continued to ride and saw tracks going down a trail into the woods… straight towards where the shot came from. "She went through there." Tommy and Joel turned down the trail and Joel was already preparing himself to find Ellie's dead body in the woods. He prayed she was alright, but was petrified of what he might find. They went down the trail and saw the first sign that the worst had indeed happened. Her horse had been shot dead, with no sign of her anywhere. "Christ! No, no, no, no!" He hopped off his horse and ran over to the carcass of hers. Tommy was quick to follow. "This is bad Tommy," he said with his voice breaking. "This is real fuckin' bad." Joel began to break down, and he was crying. His brother came over to try and lend some support.

"Take it easy, Joel. I'm sure she's fine."

Joel wanted to believe Tommy, but everything he had seen told him that he couldn't. "I hope you're right." He managed to suppress his fear and crying, for the time being. "Alright, you look over there, and I'll look there." They split up in opposite directions, Joel heading east and Tommy west. "Ellie!" he called out. He waited for a response, but got none. "Ellie!" he called out again, only louder. Still no response. He moved deeper into the woods, hope fading with each step he took. He tried to call out one last time. He took in a deep breath and yelled as loud as he could. "ELLIE!" He waited, but again got no response… until a distant voice called out from the woods.

"Joel!" It was Ellie's voice. She was alive.

"Oh, thank God," he said to himself. "Ellie! Are you okay?!"

"No, I'm hurt!" He could hear fear and pain in her voice, causing him to also feel afraid.

"Christ. Stay there! I'm comin'!" He made his way over to where he heard Ellie's voice. As he got close, he came across a small ledge with two dead hunters at the bottom. They must have shot her horse and she took them out. He climbed up onto the ledge and saw her lying on her back with her pistol out. "Ellie!" He ran over to her, grateful that she was alive. "How are you hurt? Were you shot?"

"No, it's my ankle. I stepped in a hole and twisted it. It really hurts." She pointed her pistol at her right ankle indicating that was the one that hurt. Joel went to try and get her shoe off to take a look, but she stopped him. "Don't touch it! Like I said, it really hurts."

He turned away from her to call out to his brother. "Tommy! I found her, she's alive!"

Ellie gave him her trademark puppy dog face. "So, how mad are you at me?"

"I'll decide later. Right now I'm just glad you're safe. Gimme your hands." He took Ellie's hands and sat her up, then attempted to get her to stand. "Can you put pressure on your foot?"

She stood up, keeping her right foot on the ground until the pain got too great. "No," she said as she lifted her foot up.

"Okay. I'm gonna carry you." He lifted her up and cradled her in his arms like he did when he took her out of the hospital in Salt Lake City. He began running with her back to where the horses were. "I'm gonna get you back to town and take you straight to Brenda's to look at your foot."

"That sounds good."

They met up with Tommy along the way. "Oh, thank God you're okay, Ellie. What the hell were you thinkin'?"

"Not now, Tommy," Joel asserted. "Let's just get her back to town."

* * *

When they rode back through the gate, Joel dismounted and helped Ellie off the horse before giving the reins to Tommy to take the horses back to the stables, minus the one Ellie took. He carried her directly to Brenda's and knocked on the door with his foot. "Brenda, I need you to look at Ellie's foot."

"Coming," she said from inside the house. She opened the door and motioned for them to come in. Joel carried Ellie into Brenda's house and set her down on one of the two beds in the back. "Now, which foot and what's wrong with it?"

"It's my right ankle. I twisted it."

"Okay, I'm going to need to take your shoe and sock off to take a look."

Ellie groaned, knowing it was going to hurt. As Brenda took Ellie's shoe off she grimaced, but did not make any sound. When she took the sock off she twisted her ankle the wrong way, causing Ellie to whimper a bit. Her ankle was red and swollen, as they expected it to be. Brenda inspected the ankle, testing it to see what caused pain and what didn't. It wasn't long before she had her diagnosis. "Sprained ankle. I've got a boot and some crutches I can give you. It'll take about a month for it to properly heal if you do everything you're supposed to."

"I've never used crutches before. It's gonna be weird learning to use them."

"They aren't hard to use. You just need to practice the motion a couple times."

Just then Andrew walked in the door, steaming with anger. He went straight over to Ellie in the bed. "You! You know, I was able to forgive you when you ran off with one of my horses at the dam last fall, but you crossed the line with this stunt. I got a dead horse because of you. From now on, you're blacklisted; no more taking a horse out for you."

Brenda looked at both of them in shock. "What did she do?"

"She asked to take one of my horses out for a joy ride and got it killed. Now she's banned from taking any more horses."

Ellie hung her head in defeat. "I guess I should have seen this coming."

"Yeah. And you…" he turned to Joel, "…you need to do a much better job of keeping an eye on her."

"I will, Andrew."

He turned and stormed out of Brenda's house. Brenda looked at Ellie. "How exactly did you get one of his horses killed?"

"I… don't want to talk about it." Joel could tell that Ellie was hiding something. What it was, he didn't know. He was going to find out though.

* * *

They walked up to the door and Joel reached into his pocket to get the key. "So, am I at least somewhat off the hook for taking out those hunters?" she asked with a pitiful smile. Joel just gave her a blank expression and the smile quickly faded.

"Get in the house and sit down on the couch," he demanded as he pushed the door open. In the walk from Brenda's house to her and Joel's, she had mastered walking on crutches, and walked over to the couch to sit down. "Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"

She bowed her head and sighed. "I'm sorry I ran off again. I wasn't thinking and it was completely idiotic. I should have learned my lesson last year but obviously I didn't, and I'm really, really sorry."

Joel stood there in silence. "That ain't gonna cut it, Ellie."

She picked her head up. "What else do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me what the hell was runnin' through your mind when you decided to pull this stunt. You were lucky nothin' happened when you ran off at the plant; this time you sprained your ankle. I'd still say you were lucky about that."

"I'm lucky that I got hurt?" she asked. Again, she tried the puppy dog face while looking down at her ankle as a last ditch effort to make Joel forgive her.

"Are you expectin' sympathy from me? You ran off on me, you got one of Andrew's horses killed, and you almost got killed yourself. You ain't gettin' a damn bit of sympathy from me! In fact, I'd say you had this comin' to you!" Joel's rant had set something off in her. She bowed her head and broke down sobbing. "What are you cryin' about?"

"I've l-lost you, J-Joel."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I've lost your trust. It's not that I ran off, it's _why_ I ran off."

Joel figured that this is what she was hiding at Brenda's. "Then tell me why you ran off."

She began crying harder. "I… I c-couldn't t-take it any-anymore. I f-felt like I w-was living a lie and… and… I j-just c-couldn't anymore. I was… I was going to…" she made a gun gesture with her fingers and put it up to her head, trying to explain what she planned to do without actually saying it. "...but when the hunters attacked I came to my senses and realized that I wasn't ready to die."

Joel had feared all along that was her intention when she ran off. Although he was still mad at her, at least he could empathize with her. "Ellie…" He went over to the couch and sat down next to her, putting an arm around her. She continued to cry with her head hung low. "I know what you're goin' through is tough, but you have to know that killin' yourself is never an acceptable way out. It's a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I understand you may feel betrayed by what I did at Salt Lake but you have to look at it from my side as well as yours. Are you happy with your life in Jackson up to this point?"

She sniffled, and answered without picking her head up. "Yeah."

"Are you happy to be friends with Hannah?"

"Yeah."

"Are you happy to be so close to Tommy and Maria?"

"Yeah."

"Don't you see? There's still things for you to enjoy. That's why I saved you. Because I love you and I knew that there would still be things to enjoy. When I said you were like a daughter, I meant it. I still mean it. Now, after hearin' this from me, can you still say that you wish you had sacrificed yourself for the cure and missed out on the things in Jackson to enjoy?"

Ellie took a while to let what Joel said sink in before answering. "No, I can't."

"That's what I thought, baby girl," he said as he wrapped both arms around her. She did not hug back, but accepted his hug anyway. She was now able to accept that what Joel did was in fact the right thing.

* * *

**That concludes chapter 8 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: Tensions between Joel and Ellie resurface and reach the boiling point, potentially forcing the two apart.**

**Remember to leave a review if you want the story to continue. Even if it's only one sentence.**


	9. Chapter 9: Monster

**Author's Notes: Things got pretty intense in the last chapter for sure, and that trend is going to continue. Things will get real testy between Joel and Ellie this chapter, and you will absolutely hate Joel for part of it. You'll see what I mean. Since it gets so intense, I decided it would be best to end this chapter on a lighthearted note since it's been a while since we've had one of those in the story.**

**Also, it will take longer than normal for the next chapter to be put up. I want to really take a lot of time and make it special because it will be a MAJOR turning point in the story.**

**And because someone asked, I'm really excited about the DLC.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters in this chapter, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 9: Monster

A week had passed since the community of Jackson witnessed the worst tragedy in its history. Nobody was hit harder than Connie MacCallan, who watched both her husband and only son die. After the deaths of her family, she nearly joined them, but Joel was there to help her see that there was much more to live for. Although the two had exchanged brief pleasantries in passing several times, they hadn't talked since when they met in the church cemetery. Joel thought it was time to change that.

Connie was sitting in her house one night when she heard knocking at her front door. She rarely had visitors show up, and never since the deaths of Barry and Adrian. She opened the door and was greeted by Joel standing on the porch. "Mind if I come in?" he asked.

"Why?" she responded.

Joel held up a bottle of whiskey. "I just wanna talk to you."

She considered his proposition. She had wanted to be alone ever since the incident, but she had strong feelings towards Joel. He did save her life after all. It would probably be good to talk for a while. "Yeah, sure. Come on in."

* * *

The two shared a couple glasses of scotch, and just talked. Joel spent much more time listening to Connie than actually talking himself. During the time they were talking they had somehow managed to avoid talking about her husband or her son. But Connie had kept it bottled up, and she had to let it out. "Barry was a very good man."

Joel paused, trying to find the right thing to say. She had shown that she was very emotionally unstable, and he knew saying the wrong thing could set her off. Choosing his words very carefully, he responded, "I bet he was."

"We met eight years ago; I was only sixteen. I was with my parents when we ran across him. He was starving and dehydrated, so we took him in. I was very skeptical of him when we first met. Even though he didn't seem like a threat, I knew that I couldn't trust anyone. One day we were ambushed. My parents were both killed and I was shot too. Barry was nowhere to be seen the whole time this was happening. But when I was on the ground with one of those bastards holding a gun to my head ready to finish me off, he came back and saved me. I was fucking mad at him that he wasn't there to save my parents, but I was grateful to be alive."

Tears were starting to run down her face. Joel tried to give her comfort he could see she needed. "He was there when it was most important. That's what matters."

She sniffled. "He saved my life." She then looked at Joel with affection in her eyes. "Just like you did."

Joel didn't reply. Suddenly, Connie threw herself around Joel and began kissing him on the mouth. Her sudden advance shocked him, and he quickly pushed her off of him. When he pushed her off, a look of dejection came over her. "I… I think I should go now," Joel said as he stood up, taking the whiskey with him.

"Joel, wait," she pleaded as he opened the front door. He turned to face her and hear what she had to say. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize," he said as he walked out.

* * *

He arrived back in his house and saw Ellie asleep on the couch with a Savage Starlight comic book on the floor next to her hand. He went over to the couch and picked her up to carry her to bed. She stirred and woke when he lifted her off the couch. "So, how's Connie?" she asked groggily.

Joel didn't want to tell her any details of what happened. "She's still takin' it kinda rough."

Ellie gave a tired moan before responding. "I guess something like that would take a while to get over."

Joel didn't say anything in response to her statement, and gently laid her down on her side of the bed. "Get some sleep, kiddo." He laid awake in bed longer than he wanted to, dwelling on what happened between him and Connie. Eventually he was able to silence those thoughts and fall asleep.

* * *

"Connie," he said as he knocked on her door the next morning. He waited for a few seconds for her to answer the door but she did not. He knocked again. "Connie, look I ain't mad about what happened last night. I just wanna talk." He waited longer this time, but again she didn't answer. He knocked a third time. "Connie!"

Tommy walked up to Joel. "What the hell you doin' bangin' on her door like that?" he asked.

Joel took a step back from the door. "Somethin' happened between me and her last night; I just want to talk to her about it."

"Well, she's probably tryin' to sleep. Let her."

Joel stepped back from the door and turned away. "Yeah, you're probably right." Immediately after Joel turned his back, he heard a gunshot come from inside the house. "Shit!" he screamed as he turned quickly. "Connie!" He screamed as he kicked her door down. He looked in the room and saw her lying on the floor with a pool of blood slowly forming around her head. "Jesus Christ." He walked over to her body and looked into her eyes. Though they were dead, they still showed sadness in them. She had put a bullet into her brain through her mouth. Joel knew it was because of what happened last night.

Tommy spoke up. "Now, what exactly happened last night?"

"It ain't important," Joel said.

Tommy looked around the room and saw a folded piece of paper on a table. On it was written _Joel._ "Joel, looks like she left you somethin'."

Joel took the note from Tommy, unfolded it, and read what Connie had written.

_Joel,_

_If you're reading this, it means that you have found my body and that I am dead. What happened last night was a mistake, we both know it. It was a mistake all along to give myself a chance to develop affectionate feelings towards you, especially this soon after losing my husband. I've betrayed Barry, and in doing so, shamed myself. I chose to do the only acceptable thing. I faced up to my mistakes and did what I needed to do to prevent myself from making any more mistakes. I know you told me not to apologize, but I truly am sorry and hope you can forgive me. I hope my family will be understanding enough to do the same._

_~ Connie_

Joel crumpled up the paper and threw it on the ground next to her body. "Coward," was all he said as he turned to walk out of the house. He had also felt affection towards her. He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't deny it. He wasn't as mad at the fact that she was gone as he was that she ended her life by taking the coward's way out.

When he got back to the house, Ellie was sitting on the couch with a crutch on either side of her, resting her sprained ankle on the coffee table. Joel walked by without looking at or saying anything to her. "Is Connie okay?" Ellie asked once Joel got past her.

Joel stopped, but did not face her. "From this moment on, neither of us will bring up Connie."

"I guess it was bad?" she asked. Joel shot her an angry look that she hadn't seen in a long time. He hadn't looked at her that way since they had first met; back when Joel wanted nothing to do with her. She knew she had crossed a line and refrained from saying anything else about the topic. "So, we gonna head to the diner now?"

"No," he said sharply. "We're eatin' breakfast here."

Ellie was perplexed. "Why?"

"Because I said so," he snapped.

Ellie hadn't seen him like this in almost a year. When she thought about it, she actually had never seen him act like this. Although he didn't act kindly to her when they first met, he had never spoken aggressively to her. She didn't know what happened between him and Connie, but obviously it was bad if it was making him act this way.

* * *

Hannah and Jeffrey were locked in a heated battle: a battle of wits, a battle of will, a battle of determination, with only one possible victor. "Got your knight," Jeffrey said. Hannah watched as her last knight fell from the battlefield. He was a noble soldier and fought valiantly. Through his honorable sacrifice he had made a great contribution to the war. She looked over the field of battle, surveying the grounds preparing for her next attack. After a long wait, she found an opening. The time to strike was now. Her bishop moved across the battlefield, striking the enemy's king dead. The battle was over. Victory was hers.

"Checkmate," she proudly declared.

"Damn, I'm rusty," Jeffrey laughed. "Good game."

"Yeah. So now I've beaten you, what, four times in a row?"

"Something like that." There was a knock at their door. They didn't know anybody had planned on coming over, so they were a bit surprised. "Can you get that, Hannah?"

"Yeah, I got it." She hopped up and jogged over to the door. She opened it to see Ellie standing there, supported by her crutches. "Ellie! Well, this is a nice surprise."

"Yeah, sorry about the short notice. Can I come in?"

"Absolutely, come on in." Hannah stepped aside to let Ellie come through the doorway. "How's your ankle feeling?"

"It's getting better, slowly. Still hurts though." She turned to greet Jeffrey. "Hey, Jeffrey."

"Nice to see you, Ellie. What brings you over here?"

"Uh…" she hung her head and turned to Hannah. "Hannah, can we talk in private? This is… kinda personal."

"Yeah, we can do that. My room's upstairs, can you get up there?"

"Yeah, I can get up." She walked over to the stairs and stopped at the bottom. "Can you hold these?" she asked as she handed Hannah her crutches. She put her left hand on the railing and her right hand up against the wall, and hopped up the stairs on her left foot. When she got to the top, she took her crutches from Hannah and the two made their way to Hannah's room. Her room obviously belonged to a boy before the outbreak. The walls were painted dark green and adorned with posters of various heavy metal bands.

The girls sat down on Hannah's bed. "So, what's on your mind?" Hannah asked her friend.

Ellie sighed, and took a long pause before saying anything. "It's Joel. He's been acting… he's not been acting like himself."

Hannah was confused, and concerned. Ellie seemed to be very stressed by this. "What do you mean?"

Ellie sighed again. "Something happened between him and Connie last night. I don't know what it was but he felt the need to check on her this morning. That makes me think it was something pretty serious. When he came back he said to not bring her up anymore. Whatever happened between them… it's made him really angry. He's been acting aggressive towards me and cursing at me when he's never done that before. It's… got me scared. It really has"

Hannah could tell that he hadn't taken Connie's suicide well. "I guess he's having a hard time dealing with her death."

Ellie snapped her head towards Hannah when she said that Connie was dead. "Connie's dead?"

"You didn't know?"

"Joel hasn't said a word about her today. I had no idea."

"Yeah, she killed herself."

Ellie was shocked at the news, then she wondered if Connie did it because of what happened between her and Joel. If Joel felt like he contributed to her taking her own life, she figured it would make him upset. "He's on guard duty right now; his shift ends soon. I really don't want to be with him if he's acting like this."

"He probably just needs some time to cool down." She made an offer to Ellie that she felt would comfort her. "Would you like to stay with us for dinner?"

Ellie strongly considered her offer. She felt comfortable with Hannah and Jeffrey, and she didn't with Joel right now. The only thing she worried about was how Joel would react when she came home late. She didn't tell Joel she was going out, and she was afraid he wouldn't take too kindly to her coming home late. She felt it was worth taking the chance to be with Hannah. "That would be nice."

* * *

Joel sat alone on the couch; his only company came in the form of a bottle of whiskey. It was not the same bottle he had when he talked to Connie. He had gotten a new one from Paul, the town's barter man. He poured another glass as he reflected on the previous night with Connie. He felt solely responsible for her deciding to end her life, and it weighed heavily on his mind. Ellie came in the door and without looking at her, Joel called out "Where the fuck you been?"

"Oh, I was at Hannah's house. They offered me to stay for dinner, sorry I didn't tell you." She walked over towards him and stopped suddenly when she saw him with a bottle of whiskey. "What are you doing?"

"I'm drinkin'," he snapped. "The fuck does it look like I'm doin'?" Joel was clearly intoxicated, and the alcohol had only made him more aggressive than he had been.

"I think you've had enough."

"I've had enough when I've fuckin' had enough."

"Do you wanna talk about what's bothering you?" she asked innocently.

"No," he snapped.

Ellie moved until she stood across the coffee table from Joel, and a thought crossed her mind. It was a stupid thought that would only make him mad and she didn't want to say it. She blurted it out anyway. "This is about Connie, isn't it?" She immediately regretted saying it.

Joel got a fiery look in his eyes as he looked at her. Without warning, he threw the glass at her with force, aiming right for her head.

Ellie dropped her crutches and hit the floor covering her head with her arms, narrowly dodging the projectile as it shattered against the wall behind her. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" she screamed.

Joel got off the couch and walked towards her menacingly. "Didn't I tell you to never bring up that fucking whore again?" His aggressiveness caused Ellie to scuttle backwards on the ground out of fear; she ended up backing herself up against the far wall.

"Joel, stop! Stop, stop, stop!" she pleaded desperately. "It's me… it's your baby girl."

Her pleas didn't settle Joel down. "I know exactly who you are. And when I tell you to never bring Connie up again, I mean don't fuckin' bring her up!"

Ellie was genuinely afraid of Joel at this point. "Joel, there's no need to be this angry."

"Well... guess what? I'm angry, and it ain't got shit to do with Connie." His voice was practically a growl. Ellie had never seen this anger in him at any time.

"Joel… just calm down…"

Suddenly, Joel did what Ellie thought he would never even attempt. He screamed "DON'T FUCKING TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" and kicked her in her left side. The alcohol had done more than simply make him angrier. It had made him violent.

She screamed in pain and fell over onto her side, holding her left arm tight to her side. She lay on the ground groaning in pain for a few seconds before partially getting up. She put her hands on the floor and supported her body, still favoring her left side. "What the FUCK is wrong with you, Joel?!" she screamed. "You're acting like a fucking monster!"

Again, Joel's anger boiled over. "Don't you talk to me that way!" he growled, and kicked her again in the side.

Once more she fell over onto her side, moaning in pain. Joel's violent outburst had hurt her more than just physically. She didn't know whether the physical or emotional pain from this was worse. She got back on her hands again and started crying. "What happened to kind Joel? What happened to loving Joel?" She was trying to find a soft spot to get him to snap out of his enraged state, but it was to no avail.

"You listen to me. I never was kind; I never was loving."

"That's not true Joel, you know it. I've seen you be both kind and loving." She sniffled, and let out a pained exhale. "But you're not anymore. You're acting like a psychopath and I hate seeing you like this."

Joel pointed to the back door. "If it bothers you so much, then get out of my house... and stay out."

Ellie cried harder after he said that. Although she didn't want to be with him if he was acting violent, she didn't think he would actually try to kick her out of the house. "You don't mean that."

Joel moved towards Ellie and grabbed her by her ponytail, causing her to yelp in pain. "I said get out!" He pulled her in the direction of the back door and threw her down when they got to the kitchen. Ellie quickly got up and sprinted out the back door, ignoring the pain in her ankle. She slammed the back door hard enough to cause the window to crack, leaned up against the side of the house, and slunk down to the ground. She held her knees tight to her body and was fully sobbing.

"Oh, Joel…" she cried. "What did I do to deserve this?"

After chasing Ellie out of the house, Joel went over to the cabinet containing the glasses and got another whiskey glass out. It was as if he had merely chased a fly out of the house. He felt no remorse at all. He walked back over to the couch, sat down, and poured another glass. The alcohol had blinded him to the physical and emotional damage he had done to the girl he supposedly loved like a daughter.

* * *

Ellie knocked on the door of Tommy and Maria's house. Although she trusted Hannah and Jeffrey, Tommy and Maria were practically family. The way Joel was acting, they were the only people she felt comfortable going to. She heard footsteps coming to the door and then Tommy opened it. "Hey, Ellie. Didn't expect you to come over."

She was doing a good job hiding her tears, but it was taking a lot of effort. "Hey Tommy, can I come in?"

Tommy was surprised and a bit confused that she would come over uninvited and without Joel, but he thought of her as his niece, and if she wanted to talk he felt obligated. "Yeah, come on in." Ellie limped into the house favoring her right leg since her crutches were still in the house after Joel kicked her out. "Why don't you have your crutches? Where are they?"

"At the house," she said softly.

"Where's Joel?" Tommy asked. Ellie didn't answer, and bowed her head low. "Is somethin' wrong?" As Ellie slowly walked into the house, she could not fight back the tears anymore.

"Sweetie, what's the matter?" Maria asked as she got off the couch, hearing Ellie's audible crying. She put her hands on Ellie's shoulders and helped her onto the couch. "Ellie, if something's bothering you, don't hesitate to tell us."

She looked up at Tommy and Maria, who both stood over her as she was sitting on the couch. "First of all, I came to you two because, other than Joel, I trust you more than anyone else in town."

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way about us," Tommy told her.

Again she was sobbing. "But I don't know if I can trust Joel anymore."

"What do you mean?" Maria asked with genuine concern. Ellie just shook her head. She was still in disbelief over what happened with Joel, and she was having a very difficult time finding the right way to tell them what happened. "Why can't you trust Joel anymore?"

She gave a heavy sigh and began explaining what happened. "Something happened between him and Connie last night." Immediately Tommy and Maria looked at each other, then back at Ellie. "I don't know what it was, but apparently she killed herself because of it. Joel took it really hard. I had dinner with Jeffrey and Hannah and when I got back I found Joel drinking on the couch. He had had… a lot of whiskey. I knew it was about Connie but when I brought her up he… he threw his glass at my head." Tommy and Maria were both shocked at that. "I ducked out of the way and it hit the wall behind me. But then he got up and backed me against the wall. And then he… he…" She stopped. She tried to bring herself to tell Tommy and Maria what happened, but she couldn't.

"What did he do?" Tommy asked. There was noticeable anger in his voice. Ellie continued to sit in silence, except for her sobbing. "Ellie, you can tell us. It's okay."

Finally, she told them. "He struck me."

The two were completely stunned. Joel hitting a child? It was unthinkable to them. "How did he strike you?" Tommy asked demandingly.

"He kicked me twice in the side," Ellie said through her tears.

"Show us," Maria demanded.

Ellie waited a moment before turning her left side towards them, and lifted up her shirts to reveal two distinct bruises on her side. Tommy and his wife gasped in unison at the revelation. Tommy poked the bruise to see if it hurt to the touch. Ellie grimaced slightly as he did. "That hurt you?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh my God," Maria said silently to her husband. Ellie pulled her shirts back down.

After a moment's pause, Tommy turned and walked towards the door. "That motherfucker," he grumbled.

Ellie pleaded with him to stop. "Tommy, wait! You can't go over there."

Tommy turned back to Ellie. "Why the hell not? I ain't gonna tolerate a child beater."

"I know, but… he's really unstable right now. If you go over there and try to start something, I'm afraid he'll do something drastic. I don't want either of you to get seriously hurt or worse."

"She's got a point," Maria said. "He's clearly shown that he'll use violence without hesitation right now. He might use more than just his own body if you go over there looking to start a fight. Why don't you wait until morning?"

Tommy debated it in his mind. He was eager to teach Joel a lesson, but Maria's judgement had never been wrong in the time they've been together. "Alright. I'll wait until morning."

Maria put a hand on Ellie's shoulder. "I'll get a bed made for you. You're sleeping here tonight."

Ellie's crying for the most part had stopped. "Thank you," she said. "And I want you two to know… you're like family to me."

"Oh, sweetie," Maria said as she wrapped her arms around Ellie. "You're like family to us too."

Tommy joined in on the group hug, wrapping his arms around Ellie and Maria. Ellie put her arms around her unofficial aunt and uncle. "You can come to us any time you feel the need to," Tommy reassured her.

"Thank you," she said.

* * *

Joel woke up on the couch the next morning with a monster headache. He drank a lot of whiskey, and was paying for it. He had no memory of the previous night at all; no memory of hurting Ellie. For all he knew, she was still asleep in her bed upstairs. All of a sudden there was a furious knocking on his door.

"Joel! Open up!" he heard Tommy scream. He rolled off the couch and onto the floor, slowly getting up to his hands and knees. Tommy pounded on the door again. "Joel! Get over here and open the fucking door now!" He stood up and pressed his hands against his head, trying to suppress the pain. _Last time I ever spend a whole night drinking._ Tommy pounded harder this time. "Joel! You've got ten seconds to open the goddamn door or I'm breaking it the fuck down!"

"I'm comin'!" Joel called out as he slowly made his way to the door. He opened the door and saw Tommy standing in a confrontational stance. "What?"

Tommy shoved Joel back into the house and gave him a three punch combo. A right-handed body blow doubled him over; a left-handed uppercut knocked him backwards; and a right-handed cross knocked him off his feet and onto the floor. "Don't even try to stand up!" he yelled.

"Tommy! What the hell's gotten into you?!" he called out from the ground.

"You tell me. I don't know what happened between you and Connie and frankly I don't give a shit. But if you think that you're gonna get drunk, and take it out on that poor girl of yours," he motioned out the door to where Ellie was standing out of sight, "…and get away with it… you're in for a real bad day."

"What the hell are you talkin' about? I didn't take nothin' out on her." He thought he was telling the truth. The alcohol had completely wiped his memory of that night.

"Ellie, come here," Tommy told her. She walked into the house and stood next to Tommy. Joel was confused as to why Ellie was with Tommy instead of him. Tommy grabbed the left side of her shirts and lifted them up, showing Joel the bruises he had made. "See those?"

Joel extended a hand out to her. "Shit, did I do that?"

Tommy pulled Ellie's shirts back down. "Accordin' to her, she got those bruises when you kicked her in a drunken rage."

"Ellie, is that true?" he asked her with deep sorrow in his voice.

"Yes," was all she said.

Joel put his hand over his face. "Oh shit. Oh my God, I fucked up."

"You're damn right you did!" Tommy shouted. "You may as well say goodbye to her now, 'cause unless you can say somethin' substantial to change my mind, I'm takin' her off your hands for good."

"You have to believe me," he pleaded, talking to both of them at the same time. "I'd never, ever, want to will any harm on her in any way. This is not what I wanted, and I am so, so, so fuckin' sorry."

"Well, you did," Ellie snapped. "It doesn't matter if you wanted to or not, you did. This isn't something I can just forgive and forget easily."

"I know," he extended an arm out towards her again. "And even if you're never able to forgive me, I just want you to know how sorry I am." He began to cry at the realization that he had just driven his own surrogate daughter away from him. "Baby girl, you know I care deeply about you. You know that I'd never want you to hurt, much less because of my own stupidity. All the time we spent together, have I ever laid a finger on you?"

Ellie shook her head, but didn't speak.

"Exactly. You know as well as anyone that I'd rather die than see you come to any harm. Ellie, part of me is dead knowin' that I hurt you. So even if you can't forgive me, at least take this to heart." He felt like trying to make her forgive him was pointless. He knew for certain that any trust or affection she had for him was gone, and would never come back. "Oh, God. Ellie, please try to understand... how shitty I feel right now. I know I've failed you, I know you probably don't love me anymore, but please take to heart what I've said. I ain't askin' you to forgive me, I'm just askin' that you understand how I feel because of this."

Tommy looked at Ellie, then to Joel. "Give us a moment to talk." He put and arm around Ellie's shoulders, took her to the door, and talked quietly so Joel wouldn't hear what they were saying. Joel didn't know if he even wanted to hear the conversation. "Now listen. I know you said you wouldn't just forgive him like that, but his apology sounded pretty genuine to me. And I can vouch that it's not like him to do this. What do you think? Do you wanna stay with Maria and me or do you feel comfortable goin' back to Joel?"

Ellie thought for a while. Of course she trusted Joel more than anyone else in the world. She didn't want to let this stand in the way of her having someone she thought of as a father. "Joel's like a father to me. I trust him with everything." Her affection for Joel outweighed any negative feelings caused by his alcohol induced outburst.

"So you want to keep livin' here with him?"

She thought for less time with this question. "Yeah."

Tommy and Ellie turned to walk back over to Joel. Joel had prepared himself for Tommy to tell him he would never see his baby girl again, that he had ruined everything he had loved. "I'm lettin' Ellie come back to live with you. But I'm cuttin' you off from any and all alcohol from here on out. And you listen to me." His voice intensified as he took a couple steps closer to Joel, who was still lying on his back. "If I ever hear that you put your hands on this girl again… she will come to live with Maria and me, you will be banned from ever seein' her again, and you will get a healthy ass-kickin' from me. Don't think I'll hold back just because you're my brother. Once you put your hands on a child, all ties are cut, and you're just another punk who beat a child. Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely."

Tommy turned back to Ellie. "You sure you're okay?"

She looked at Joel, then back at Tommy. "Yeah."

Tommy reached out and put and arm around her shoulders. "You take it easy." He moved back over to Joel. "And you… remember what I said." He walked out the door, looking back at Joel just before closing it.

Ellie came over to Joel to hug him, and he stood up to welcome the embrace. "Ellie, thank you for listenin' to me. You know that what happened last night was the last thing I would have ever wanted."

"You had a moment of weakness," she said with her face buried in his chest. "We all have them."

After a long embrace, they let go. "So, you forgive me then?" Joel asked.

"It'll take some time," Ellie said as she went to walk over to the couch. "But I ain't gonna hold it against you forever." Immediately after saying that last sentence she put her hands up to stop herself, like she would to prevent herself from walking into a wall. She turned her head towards Joel with a raised eyebrow and a very puzzled look on her face. "Did I just say 'ain't?'" she asked as she pointed to herself.

"Yeah, you most certainly did," Joel said.

Ellie nodded her head very slowly. "That's what I thought." A playful smile formed on Joel's face. He felt proud that she was starting to pick up his dialect. "I wonder where I got that from," she laughed.

"Hey, beats me," Joel said. The two shared a laugh as they both sat down on the couch. They were thankful that neither of them let Joel's breakdown the night before ruin their relationship.

* * *

**That concludes chapter 9 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: Ellie and Hannah's friendship takes a dramatic turn of events./An important announcement concerning the future of this story.**

**Remember: Your feedback is very important to me. Please leave a review.**


	10. Chapter 10: Angel

**Author's/Birthday Boy's Notes: You read that right! Today is my 18th birthday! Rather than have you guys give me presents, I figured I'd give you all a present in the form of the newest chapter! Like I said in last chapter's notes, this is a major turning point which will change the focus of the story the rest of the way. The only thing I'll say further is prepare your feels, because things will NEVER be the same between Ellie and Hannah.**

**Also, there will be an announcement at the end of the chapter. It concerns the future plans of this story.**

**Completely Unrelated: If any of my readers are Whovians, what did you think of the 50th? My sister and I thought it was amazing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters in this chapter, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 10: Angel

It had been two months since Ellie and Joel first arrived at Jackson. Spring had given way to summer; a change that was welcomed by the community. While most people were ditching their warm clothing in favor of clothing more appropriate for the warmer temperatures, Ellie continued to keep her arms completely covered. Though she wanted to be comfortable in the heat, she couldn't let anybody see the bite mark on her arm. Keeping it secret was of utmost importance to her.

The most important thing to her, however, was her friendship with Hannah. She didn't have any intention of trying to make friends when she first got to Jackson, but she was glad she changed her mind. The two had a strong connection. They had felt it ever since the first conversation they had outside the diner, and it had only grown stronger as time passed. Ellie had never had a friendship that lasted more than a couple weeks. She knew Hannah was especially grateful for their friendship, since it was the first she had ever had, and Ellie was happy to have made such an impact on her life.

Joel had the afternoon shift on guard duty, and he left Ellie at Hannah and Jeffrey's house while he was on duty. "Hey Hannah!" Ellie said as she ran towards Hannah to meet her standing in the living room.

"Good to see you again." The two gave each other a quick hello hug.

"You two behave yourselves. Ellie, I'll pick you up after my shift," Joel told her as he stood in the doorway.

"I will," she said cheerfully. Joel backed out and closed the door behind him. "So, are we gonna play blackjack again?" Hannah had taught Ellie how to play blackjack in the time they had spent together. She regretted it a bit, because Ellie won almost every time.

"Actually, since it's such a nice day why don't we go outside? Just enjoy the weather, you know?"

"Oh, I get it. You're getting tired of me kicking your ass so you're trying to avoid it," she said with a smirk.

Hannah rolled her eyes and chuckled. "While I'll admit I was getting a bit frustrated, I just thought we should get some fresh air. We've spent so much time inside when we've been together; I think it's time for a change."

Ellie wasn't buying the story. She knew her friend was just being a sore loser, but she welcomed change. Fresh air was something she never got to enjoy in Boston; she may as well enjoy it now. "Okay. We can go outside for a bit and then I can kick your ass at blackjack."

Hannah laughed again. "Fair enough."

* * *

When the girls stepped outside, Ellie saw something in the backyard that caught her eye: an old jungle gym. "Oh hey, look." She jogged over to it. "I really wish I would have gotten a chance to play on one of these when I was little." It had a wooden frame, a central tower with a slide, a row of swings on one side and monkey bars on the other. She could see that the monkey bars used to have ladder steps to get up to the bars, but they were missing now. Ellie walked over to them. "Can you do a chin-up?"

"What's that?" Hannah asked.

"It's something they made us do in the boarding school I was in," Ellie explained. "You'd grab onto a bar and try to pull yourself up until your chin was above it."

"Sounds like you'd have to be pretty strong to do one," Hannah said.

"We're light, so it might actually be easier than you think. I think I used to be able to get three, but I'd be lucky to get one now."

"Well try it."

She walked over until she was under the bar on the far end. "Okay, here goes nothing." She jumped up and grabbed onto the bar, struggled to pull herself up, but eventually completed a successful chin-up. She dropped down to the ground and gave a slight bow. "Ta-da."

"There's no way I could do that."

"You're lighter than me, so maybe you could."

"But I'm also not as strong as you." She thought about it, and decided that it couldn't hurt to make an attempt. "Oh, I guess I'll try." She walked over to the bars and grabbed on. When she tried to pull herself up, she immediately realized she wouldn't be able to do it and gave up. "Oh, screw that," she said as she jumped back down.

"You didn't even try," Ellie said with a laugh. Suddenly, an idea hit her. "Ooh, I got an idea." She jogged away from the bars until she was about fifteen feet back from the first bar.

"What?" Hannah inquired.

"I'm gonna get a running start, jump up and grab the bar, swing my feet up until they catch around another bar, and just hang there like a spider."

Hannah looked over the structure, deciding whether or not Ellie's idea was smart. The wood had been left to rot in the elements for more than twenty years. It could easily break when she tried that. "Ellie, I don't think that's the best idea."

"Come on, what could happen?"

"You could fall and hurt yourself."

"Pssh… Don't be such a baby." Ellie sprinted towards the bars and leaped up to grab on. She swung her feet forward, and her weight catching on the bar paired with her momentum caused the wood frame to give way. The bar was ripped out of the frame causing Ellie to fall, and the momentum of her feet swinging caused her body to spin backwards, and she landed flat on her back.

"Balls!" Hannah screamed as she ran over to Ellie. The impact had knocked all the air out of her, and for a brief moment she was completely unable to breathe. When Hannah got to Ellie, she found her breathing very heavily, clearly in pain. "Are you okay?" she asked frantically.

Ellie was silent for a moment, before giving her response. "I don't know." Her voice was hoarse and very breathy.

Hannah grabbed Ellie's hands and tried to sit her up. "Come on, sit up." When Ellie was sitting upright, she continued her heavy breathing and leaned over forwards. "Didn't I tell you it was a bad idea?"

"Yeah," she said as she nodded, "but I'm a hardhead."

"Obviously. Now give me a clear answer, yes or no, are you okay?"

Ellie thought for a moment, trying to decide if she was in fact okay. "Yeah, I'm just winded."

Though Ellie had said she was okay, Hannah didn't think she fully was. "You sound more than just winded. What exactly hurts? What do you feel?"

Ellie put her hand to the left side of her back. "It hurts in the back of my ribcage, and… it's hard for me to breathe."

"That might be just from getting the wind knocked out of you."

"No," she shook her head gently. "I feel like I'm not taking in as much air as I should be."

Hannah grew a bit concerned. "Would… would you like me to take you to Brenda's?"

Ellie nodded. "Yeah, that would be smart."

Hannah helped Ellie to her feet. "Let me tell my dad first." Hannah walked to the back door keeping pace with Ellie, who was walking slowly. She opened the door and Jeffrey was sitting at the kitchen table reading one of the many books left behind in their house. "Dad, I'm taking Ellie to Brenda's place. She hurt herself."

Jeffrey stood up. "Is she okay? How'd she get hurt?"

"She says she's fine. She thought she could do something but she couldn't and fell."

"Okay, as long as she says she's fine. Just bring her back here before Joel's shift ends."

"Of course."

* * *

Joel was stationed in tower East 2, overlooking the road that leads to Jackson's gate. It had been uneventful, as almost all guard shifts were, until all of a sudden he got a bad feeling in his gut. It was the feeling he got whenever he was worried about Ellie. Every time he pushed the feeling aside, it came right back. He wanted to leave his post to check on her, but his shift had just started a half hour ago. He still had hours to go… until Tommy approached the tower.

"Joel!" he called out to him.

Joel turned around to face Tommy. Branson was standing next to him. "What is it?" Tommy began chuckling. Joel couldn't hear it but he knew what his brother looked like when he was laughing. He got a stupid look on his face that he had never seen on anyone else. "What're you laughin' about?"

"Uh… there's been a bit of a mix up. It's kinda funny actually."

"What do you mean there was a mix up?"

"Well, the guy who made the schedule put you down for the wrong shift. Branson was supposed to have the afternoon shift today and you were supposed to have it tomorrow."

Joel saw this as a blessing in disguise. He wanted to leave to make sure Ellie was okay, and now he had a valid reason to. "So I can go on home now?"

"Yeah. Branson's here to relieve you. Leave the rifle up there for him."

Joel did as he was told and made his way down from the tower. He went immediately from the tower to Jeffrey's house to check on the girls. He knocked and waited for someone to answer. Jeffrey opened the door and greeted Joel, "Well, hey there. I thought you had guard duty."

"There was a bit of a mix up. I'm actually not supposed to have it till tomorrow. The girls here?"

Jeffrey shook his head. "Nah, they're at Brenda's."

That's the answer Joel was afraid of. "Why?"

"Ellie hurt herself. They're just checking to make sure she's okay."

"Goddammit," he said as he turned and stormed away.

* * *

Ellie lay on a bed in Brenda's house. She was taking slow, deep breaths, making sure she could breathe properly. "Just keep breathing like that and you'll be fine. You'll feel short of breath sometimes, so take it easy," Brenda informed her.

Ellie looked at Hannah, who was standing next to the bed on the right side. "I hope Joel won't be too mad at me."

"I don't think he'll be too mad. I just want to get you back to my place before his shift ends."

Just then there was a knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice. "Brenda, open up." It was Joel. _Balls, _Hannah thought.

"I'll open it if you ask nicely," Brenda joked.

"Brenda, please… I'm here to check on Ellie." She opened the door, and Joel stepped in. He looked at Ellie in the bed, and Ellie propped herself up with her elbows on the bed to look at him more directly. "How did Ellie get hurt?" he asked Brenda.

"Well, she had the brilliant idea to swing on a dilapidated jungle gym and it broke, causing her to fall hard on her back."

Joel looked at Ellie and threw up his arms as if to say 'what the hell were you thinking?' She forced a pathetic smile, hoping to sway him into forgiving her stupidity. Joel sighed and looked back at Brenda. "Just… tell me the damage."

"From what I can tell, a small piece of her rib cage splintered off and slightly punctured her left lung. She's going to have some difficulty breathing for a while but will fully heal with rest. Make sure she doesn't do a lot of physical activity until she's healed."

"Thank you." He looked at Ellie and Hannah. "Let's go girls."

Ellie got off the bed with a little help from Hannah, and the two followed Joel out of the house. Immediately after stepping on the porch, Joel turned around to reprimand the girls. "Now, what the hell were you thinkin'? Did you really think it was smart to horse around on somethin' like that?"

"Joel, I can explain," Ellie tried to defend herself, but Hannah cut her off.

"I take full responsibility," she said as she closed her eyes and raised her hand.

Joel folded his arms and looked down on her. "Really?"

"Yeah. I kinda… I dared her to do it. But, I didn't think she actually would."

Joel scoffed. "Why does that not surprise me? I'm sure your father will have something to say to you about this."

Hannah became nervous when Joel brought up her dad. She was just trying to cover for her friend to not make her look bad, but she thought it might blow up in her face. It was too late to change her story now.

* * *

When they got back to her house, Joel opened the door without knocking first. "You girls sit on the couch while I talk to Jeffrey." They did as they were ordered.

"Talk to me about what?"

Joel took Jeffrey aside and spoke quietly to him so the girls wouldn't hear. As the girls sat listening for a while, they were wondering what Joel and Jeffrey were discussing. "What do you think they're talking about?" Ellie asked.

"I don't know," Hannah replied.

"Hey!" Joel called out. "Keep quiet over there!"

The girls lowered their heads in defeat and continued to wait. They were talking for at least two minutes before they stopped. As the men finished their conversation they came back over to the girls and stood in front of them. Joel spoke up first. "Alright girls, we're sorry to inform you that you will no longer be seein' each other."

The girls were utterly shocked. "What?" they asked in unison. "No!" Hannah said.

"Hannah, this is the second time one of your little ideas has gotten someone sick or hurt," Jeffrey said. "The incident with the vodka was bad enough, but Ellie could have been seriously hurt this time. If the back of her head hit the ground instead of her back, she could've been paralyzed for the rest of her life. Would you have been able to live with yourself if that happened? I don't think you would. I know this isn't fair to Ellie because she's tried to be sensible most of the time."

Joel interjected. "But part of this is on you, Ellie. You didn't have to do it just because she dared you to."

Jeffrey continued lecturing his daughter. "Obviously you've shown that you aren't mature enough to handle something as simple as having a friend. I'm ending this before one of you gets more than just a hangover or punctured lung."

Hannah stood up off the couch and approached her dad. "This is completely stupid!"

"I'm not having anything from you. Now, go on up to your room."

Hannah turned to Ellie. "Ellie, I'm really sorry." Ellie stood up and the two wrapped each other in their arms. Hannah felt horrible for destroying their friendship. In her attempt to spare Ellie from Joel's wrath, she ruined the best thing she had in her life.

"Yeah, say goodbye, then get up to your room." The girls hugged for a long time before letting go. Hannah slowly and dejectedly made her way up the stairs. She looked back at Ellie one last time when she got up to the top of the steps, and then started down the hall to her room. Ellie lowered her head. "Ellie, I'm sorry it had to end like this for you two. You're a good girl and I've come to like you. I especially liked that you made my girl happy; I loved seeing her smile. But if she's not responsible enough to be friends with you without getting into trouble, I can't risk you two getting into more serious trouble."

She looked up at Jeffrey, sadness evident in her eyes. Joel gave a quick, gentle tug on her shoulder motioning her towards the door. "C'mon. Let's go." She followed Joel out of the house and closed the door behind her. Joel started walking back to their house but Ellie stayed put. She had to speak up.

"Joel, wait."

Joel turned around and walked back towards her. "What?"

She hesitated. "Hannah was lying."

He folded his arms across his chest. "I beg your pardon?"

"It wasn't her idea for me to swing on the bars. It was mine. She actually tried to stop me but… I didn't listen."

Joel turned his head away. "Mm-hm."

"You don't believe me?"

"If that's really what happened, then why are you just tellin' me this now? Why didn't you tell me back when I first asked you?"

"I was going to, but Hannah cut me off. I'm being serious, Joel, you have to believe me. Hannah was just trying to make me not look like an idiot in front of you. It was my own stupid fault for getting hurt, not hers." She stopped to catch her breath. Even talking was harder than it should be.

"You know, I'd have an easier time believin' you if Hannah didn't have a history of doin' this shit."

"If you're talking about the night with the alcohol, that was ONE incident! That's not much of a history."

"Plus, I know you're smarter than to try somethin' that stupid just because 'it seems like a fun idea.'"

"Joel, please listen to me…" She was becoming very upset. Her friendship with Hannah had rejuvenated her good spirit. Now that it looked like it was over, she was not taking it well.

"We're goin' back to the house," he said. "This conversation's over." He turned around to lead her back home.

"Fucker," she said under her breath as she followed. Thankfully he did not hear her. As they walked down the street, Ellie kept turning back to look at Hannah's house. She hoped that Joel and Jeffrey would come around and let them see each other again someday.

* * *

When Ellie awoke the next morning, something felt seriously wrong. She couldn't place what it was, until she smelled what it was that was wrong. Burning. Something outside was on fire. She got out of bed and looked out the window to see a thick cloud of black smoking rising up from… Hannah's house! Without putting her shoes on, she ran down the stairs and outside while Joel was still sound asleep.

She got near Hannah's house and saw Tommy standing there looking over it and instructing people to stay back. The house was almost completely engulfed in flames, and Hannah and Jeffrey were nowhere to be seen. Ellie ran close and Tommy put his arm across her body to stop her. "Ellie, keep back!"

She was panting heavily. She knew she wasn't supposed to run like that with her injured lung, but she was too desperate to make sure Hannah and Jeffrey were safe. "Has anyone come out?" she asked desperately after she had caught her breath.

"No, they're both still in there."

As Elle watched over the burning house, she folded her hands and pressed them up against her forehead. She found herself doing something she never thought she would do… she was praying. "Please let them be okay. Please let them come out. Please let them be okay." She continued watching as smoke billowed high into the air. She waited and waited and hoped that they would come out of the house. Suddenly, the front door was knocked off of its weakened frame, and a plume of black smoke erupted from the opening. From the smoke emerged Jeffrey; a bandana covered his mouth and nose, and the limp body of Hannah hung in his arms. "Hannah!" Ellie ducked under Tommy's arm and ran to get closer to her friend.

"Ellie! Get back here!" Tommy shouted, but Ellie was set on one thing: making sure her friend was okay.

Jeffrey set Hannah down on the sidewalk. Her eyes and mouth were closed and her skin had been blackened from soot. "Is she okay?!" Ellie frantically asked Jeffrey.

"She's breathed in a lot of smoke," Jeffrey said as he pulled the bandana off his face. He grabbed onto Hannah's wrist looking for signs of life. "Fuck, she's got no pulse!" No heartbeat, no breathing, nothing. He was in panic mode now. He pressed his hands to Hannah's chest and began giving her CPR. "Come on… breathe, Hannah… fucking breathe!"

Ellie tried a much gentler approach. She held Hannah's right hand in her own and began stroking it gently. "Hannah… it's me, Ellie. If you can hear me, you need to keep holding on. You can come back, I know you can."

Neither approach seemed to work. She had not so much as stirred, and time was quickly running out. Jeffrey stopped with the chest compressions for a brief moment to check for life… still nothing. "No! Don't do this to me, Hannah!" Jeffrey screamed as he resumed trying to revive his daughter.

"Hannah, you can't die. You've got so much in life. You've got a father that loves you, you've got a great life here in Jackson… and most importantly you have our friendship. That's why you can't leave now; because our friendship is too strong to end like this." She placed the hand that was stroking Hannah's on top of her soot covered forehead.

Through both their efforts to bring Hannah back, she had not shown a single sign of life. It appeared to them both that she was dead. As Jeffrey gave up on trying to revive his daughter, concluding that she was beyond rescue, he began to cry. "No, no, no… Hannah… Oh God, Hannah… Nooooo!"

"Hannah?" Ellie had not lost hope yet. She felt that Hannah could still come back, but with every second that passed, that hope quickly faded. "Don't die on us, Hannah." Still no response. There was still a slim sliver of hope though, Ellie could feel it. "Please don't go," she pleaded with her voice breaking. She waited for a response: a stir, a twitch, anything to let them know she was alive, but got nothing. "Please…" She pleaded weakly with her one last time… but it was too late. The smoke she inhaled had taken its toll... Hannah was gone.

Ellie held Hannah's hand in between hers and held them up to her forehead. Tears flooded down her face, as her friendship with Hannah had ultimately come to an end. Though the two girls had only known each other for two months, they had become inseparable. She was worried about how well she would be able to cope with this loss, or if she would even be able to cope at all. After losing Riley and Sam, she had told herself she was never going to allow anyone else to get close to her. She gave Hannah a chance under the – apparently false – assumption that there was no danger of losing her in the way she lost those two. She now realized that she should have listened to herself to spare the grief she felt with losing Hannah.

Tommy looked on in pure shock as Jeffrey watched his daughter slip away from him. He had known Hannah for most of her life. And though he had never had a true attachment to her, apart from her being a friend's daughter, he found himself struck with grief as well. The worst part for him was not seeing Hannah die; it was seeing Jeffrey lose his child, his own flesh and blood. He was right by Joel's side when he lost Sarah; watching it happen again was almost too much for him to handle.

Then there was Jeffrey, who Ellie and Tommy both worried about. His wife had run off when Hannah was less than a year old, so for the last fifteen years Hannah was his only family. Other than Tommy and Maria, he was not close with anyone else in town. Even Houser, who he traveled to Jackson with, was merely an acquaintance as opposed to an actual friend. Hannah was the only thing he had. They were worried that he would end up like Connie did. He sat next to his daughter's body with his face buried in his hands, bawling like a baby.

But they may had begun grieving too soon. What happened next could only have been described as a miracle. As Ellie and Jeffrey sat mourning over Hannah… her eyes shot open and she drew in a deep breath. The two were struck with disbelief as they heard Hannah come to life in a coughing fit. Jeffrey grabbed her in his arms and held her close to his body. His tears of grief had turned into tears of joy that his daughter was, in fact, alive. "Oh my God! Oh Hannah, you're alive!"

Hannah had stopped coughing long enough to speak feebly. "Dad… the fire… our house…"

"Don't worry about our house, baby. You're alive and that's all that matters. Oh my God, I thought I lost you, Hannah. I thought you were gone." He continued holding his daughter tightly to himself.

"You saved my life, Dad," she said with admiration.

He paused before responding. "No… I didn't." A confused look came over Hannah's face. Jeffrey held her away slightly and looked at Ellie. "Ellie did." Ellie appeared as confused as Hannah was when Jeffrey said he wasn't the one who saved her. She was also still in shock that Hannah was actually alive. "It was all her."

"No, all I did was talk to you. Your dad's the one who revived you."

"Ellie, don't you see? Hannah trusts you and looks up to you more than anyone. It was your voice, and your comforting touch, that let her come back to me. The bond between you two was strong enough to bring her back." Ellie thought the smoke must have killed a few of his brain cells. He was just talking crazy.

Hannah let go of her father and threw her arms around Ellie. Ellie hugged back. "I knew, as soon as I met you, that befriending you would be the best thing to ever happen to me." Hannah was crying as she talked. "And I was so right. I've never been more grateful to say you're my friend."

Ellie wasn't sure how to respond. She still didn't believe she was the one who saved Hannah, but she went along with it. "Same here."

"Listen, girls, as far as I'm concerned you can forget that whole conversation last night about you two not being allowed to see each other. Clearly this is a sign that you are in fact meant to be friends."

"Jeffrey!" Joel called from down the street. He jogged down the street and Jeffrey turned and jogged to meet him.

Before Joel could say anything about the fire, Jeffrey spoke first. "Oh, Joel, If I didn't know any better I'd… I'd say I just witnessed a miracle."

"What do you mean?"

Jeffrey took a deep breath before speaking. "My girl, Hannah… when I carried her out of the burning house, she wasn't breathing. I tried, and tried, and tried to revive her, but I just couldn't. I thought she was dead… I thought I had lost my daughter. But then, Ellie… just by talking to her… helped bring her back. It's almost like there was an angel working through her."

Joel listened to what Jeffrey said, and thought there was a much simpler explanation. "Like you said, Ellie's got a gift. It's as simple as that."

Jeffrey still believed that there was something greater at work, but he considered what Joel said. "I guess you're right."

Joel looked at the burning house. It was almost entirely brought to the ground. "Listen, Jeffrey, the two of you are more than welcome to come live with us. We've got two spare bedrooms we ain't usin'."

Jeffrey embraced Joel in response to his offer. "Thank you, Joel."

Ellie and Hannah watched as what remained of the house crumbled to the ground. Hannah bowed her head and turned to her friend, who she was convinced saved her life. "We lost everything." She looked up at Ellie. "But I still have you." Hannah offered a hand out to Ellie, which Ellie grabbed a hold of. "Friends for life," Hannah said with a smile.

Ellie put on an identical smile. "Friends for life," she repeated.

* * *

**Announcement: With the conclusion of this chapter, I will be taking an indefinite hiatus from writing. Here's why: I have the final chapter (which is going to be intense) all planned out, a year of time in the story that needs to pass from now until then, but only a few chapters worth of material to fill that gap. So rather than take a really long time and be inconsistent in between chapters, I figured it would be better to wait until I had it all thought out and try to update consistently like I have been. I am NOT abandoning this story. I am just taking a break until I have enough material to put out a new chapter every 3-5 days. Think of this as the story's "mid-season finale." I'm aiming for another 8-10 chapters after the hiatus, including the grand finale. So just sit tight and be patient. If I had to make a guess, it'll be two to three weeks before the next chapter's up. I'm not sticking to that guess; it could be more or less time than that. It all depends on how long it takes for me to collect my ideas.**

**Brand New Start will continue after hiatus.**

**Remember: Your feedback is what keeps the story going.**


	11. Chapter 11: Snowfall

**Author's Notes/Brand New Start B Preview: I promised the story would be back, so here it is! Instead of talking about this chapter I'd like to give you all an idea of what to expect in the second part of the story and some changes that will be made.**

**The first and probably biggest change is the focus of the story. I feel like Joel and Ellie's relationship is pretty well established, so I'm shifting to focus more on Ellie and Hannah's relationship. Joel and Ellie's relationship will still be covered, but I'm focusing a little less on that and a little more on Ellie and Hannah. It will be like 50/50 whereas earlier it was almost all about Ellie and Joel.**

**Another change is that there will be fewer story arcs spread out over multiple chapters. There will be one split chapter, but for the most part each chapter will be its own plot. **

**No plot points from the first part of the story will be brought back. There will be some things that I will bring back, but I won't revisit, for example, the Connie story.**

**At some point in the second part, I will incorporate an original song lyric written by me.**

**Lastly, I will admit and confess that, until the final chapter, I don't really have any compelling plot arcs like the first part did. The finale though will more than make up for it. So the second half may be a let down compared to the first until the finale.**

**There will be a total of nine chapters in the second part, with a shocking ending that will leave you heartbroken, but also happy. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 11: Snowfall

The chill of late fall created a nip in the air in Jackson. For once in her life, Ellie had the luxury of a heating source in the colder months of the year. She had traded her tattered and blood stained pink, white, and brown jacket for a warm, comfortable hoodie. Joel was comfortable in his blue flannel shirt that he picked up from Paul; it seemed to Ellie like he never wore anything other than flannel.

It had been just over five months since Hannah and Jeffrey moved in with Joel and Ellie after their house was destroyed in a massive fire. It was on that day when Jeffrey nearly lost everything he loved. His daughter had gotten trapped in her room, and nearly asphyxiated from the smoke. When Jeffrey found her, her heart was not beating. He had lost hope that his daughter would survive, when all of a sudden she started breathing again. Jeffrey credited Hannah's survival entirely to Ellie, who he believed was the only reason she did not perish. He had always thought highly of Ellie, and after that day, he only thought of her even higher.

* * *

Ellie sat in a chair alone on the back porch watching the season's first snowfall. The delicate flakes fluttered their ways down from the sky. The stunning backdrop of the mountains added to the beauty of the snowfall. The scene was peaceful and serene, but those feelings changed quickly when memories of the winter before crept back into her mind.

_**She's chasing a wounded deer through the forest. She finds it in an abandoned mining town, having succumbed to the injury she inflicted with her bow.**_

_ No, why am I thinking about this now?_

_**Two men reveal themselves to her. The older one introduces himself as David and offers to trade supplies for the deer meat.**_

_ Stop it, stop thinking about that. Think about something else, anything else, please._

_**She and David are in the complex fighting off hordes on infected. They kill them all and David reveals that he knows who Ellie is, and that he had sent men to kill her and Joel weeks prior.**_

_ Get out of my fucking head!_

_**She gets the medicine and rides back to Joel, still recovering from his wounds. The next day, men show up to hunt her down and kill her. She rides off to draw them away from Joel.**_

Her heart rate increased as the memories of that experience flooded back and assaulted her.

_**She attempts to get back to Joel when David chokes her unconscious. She wakes up in a cell, watching his friend hacking up a human body in a kitchen. They're cannibals.**_

_ Oh, God. I'm gonna have to relive this whole fucking thing aren't I?_

_**She's pinned down on a table with a cleaver ready to lop her head off. She breaks free and runs out into the blizzard. She fights her way through the town to the steakhouse in which she becomes trapped with David.**_

_ Please make it stop. Please, God, make it stop!_

_**David is sitting on top of Ellie, ready to violate and then kill her.**_

_ Nooooo!_

_**She grabs David's machete and slashes his arm to throw him off. She jumps on top of him and hacks his face into pieces. She feels a grab on her shoulder. She swings her fist in a wild backhand, striking the unknown adversary in the face.**_

"Ow, balls!" Hannah's scream snapped Ellie back to the present.

"Shit! Sorry, Hannah!" She quickly stood up and saw Hannah covering her face; blood was running between her fingers.

She took her hand away from her face to yell at Ellie. "What's wrong with you, Ellie?! You broke my nose!"

Ellie felt horrible about striking her friend. She couldn't defend her actions, at least not at the moment. "I know. I'm sorry; I thought you were someone else."

Hannah didn't buy it for a second. It was only her, Joel and Jeffrey at the house. "Someone else? Would you have done that to Joel or my dad? Huh?!"

"No, it's just… you scared me." Hannah covered her face again. Ellie had caught her with a hard shot, and she was bleeding profusely. "Come on. Let's go inside and get you cleaned up." She stood behind Hannah with her hands on her shoulders, guiding her. She opened the door and immediately called out to Joel and Jeffrey. "Hey, get a rag, quick. Hannah's bleeding bad."

Jeffrey saw the immense amount of blood running down his daughter's face and quickly got up and ran over to her. "Jesus, what happened?"

"She surprised me and I hit her out of instinct. I'm really, really sorry."

"Get away from her," he snapped at Ellie as he pulled his daughter away from her. He was understandably very upset at Ellie, but he had no idea what she'd been through. Last winter had traumatized her, and the effects were still very strong. Jeffrey pulled a rag out from a drawer in the kitchen and put it up to Hannah's nose.

"Ellie come with me," Joel told her as he motioned for her to follow him up the stairs. She did as he instructed and followed him up the stairs and into their bedroom. Joel closed the door after they were both in the room. "Now, why the hell would you hit Hannah like that?"

Ellie didn't know how she could defend herself. The psychological damage from last winter was so severe, she didn't even know if she could tell Joel the details. It wasn't anything to do with him; she just couldn't bring herself to retell the horrible events. "You know that I went through some traumatic shit last winter."

"Yeah, you never did tell me about that." Ellie knew he was trying to get her to open up about it, but she just couldn't.

"Well, the snow triggered the memories to come back. I was in the middle of an awful flashback when Hannah grabbed my shoulder. I thought she was..." She couldn't talk about it any more than that.

Joel was concerned. He didn't know what happened, but it had clearly taken a severe toll. He sat down on the bed and invited her to sit next to him. She accepted his invitation. "Why don't we talk about it?" She hung her head and remained silent. She was silent for several seconds before Joel heard the sound of soft crying coming from her. "Ellie, is everythin' okay?"

"No," she said as she shook her head, still keeping it low. "I can't tell you what happened, Joel. And don't be offended, it doesn't have anything to do with you. You know you're the first person I'd talk to whenever something's bothering me. It's just… what happened was so traumatic it hurts whenever I even think about it. Talking about it would just be too much."

Joel sighed and put an arm around her. He hated seeing her in distress; it hurt him almost as much as it hurt her. "Ellie, sooner or later you're gonna have to talk about it. You can't keep this bottled up or you'll have a complete breakdown. Talking about it will make you feel better. It may not at first, but in the long run, I guarantee you'll feel better."

Ellie wiped tears from her eyes and nodded in agreement with Joel. "I know. It's killing me, it really is. But I just can't talk about it. At least not right now."

Joel wanted to get her to open up, but if she was insisting that it would cause too much pain for her, he wasn't going to argue. "Well I'm not gonna force it outta ya. But eventually you need to tell me. I'll let you wait until you're comfortable talkin' about it."

She put her arms around his torso. "Thank you Joel."

"Why don't you stay up here a while and cool down?"

"That's probably a good idea," she said as she nodded.

"I'll go explain this to Jeffrey so he doesn't think you just sucker-punched his daughter for no reason."

She let out a short chuckle. "Yeah, that's also probably a good idea."

* * *

She had been up in the room for about an hour reading her comics. She had already read through all the books before, so she started back at the beginning. It wasn't as good the second time around. Hannah opened the door and came into the room. Her nose had been set, most likely by Brenda, and there were black half-circles under both of her eyes. "Hey, Hannah," Ellie said. "Look, I'm really sorry I hit you."

She slowly walked over to the bed. "It's okay. I guess I can't really stay mad at you after all the good things you've done for me."

"Thank you for understanding. And, hey, I think the black eyes make you look tougher," she told Hannah as she smiled.

Hannah laughed at that. "Yeah, I guess they kinda do." Her demeanor changed when she thought of something Ellie said after she hit her. "When you said you thought I was someone else, what'd you mean?"

Ellie's demeanor changed as well. _Please don't make me have to go through all that again. _"What do you mean?"

"The only other people in the house were Joel and my dad. And I know you wouldn't have hit any of them, so you must've been talking about someone else. Who was it?"

Even though Hannah was very close to Ellie, and she trusted her completely, she still couldn't bring herself to tell her what happened. There was no use in not saying anything though. "Someone from a nightmare," is all she said. She wasn't lying, she was just not telling the entire truth.

Hannah sat down on the bed next to Ellie. "I've got a sneaking suspicion it's more than just a bad dream."

Ellie scoffed slightly. "Trust me; it's a lot worse than the kind of nightmare you're thinking of. Picture all the bad things your mind can come up with, and imagine they're all coming after you. That's what you imagine when you think of the word nightmare, except in my case I couldn't get out of it by waking up. I was living out the worst nightmare my brain could produce, and I couldn't escape. The word nightmare has a whole new definition for me now; anything less is just a bad dream."

Hannah wasn't sure how to respond. Nothing she had ever been through could compare to that. She had no reference point to what Ellie just told her, and she couldn't offer any support if she had no understanding of what she'd been through. "I... don't know what to say other than I'm sorry you had to go through that." _God, that's a crappy thing to say._

Though it may have been crappy, Ellie did not take it the wrong way like Hannah feared she might. "I don't expect you to be able to say anything else, Hannah."

"Thank you," she said. The girls hugged each other on the bed, and Ellie felt a little better having at least gotten a little bit off her chest.

* * *

It was the middle of the night, and Ellie and Joel were both fast asleep. The two lay in bed facing each other, sleeping quietly and peacefully. All of a sudden, the quietness was broken when Ellie awoke with a shriek and punched Joel in his face. "Ow! Goddammit!"

_Fuck, not again._ "Holy shit! Joel-"

"What the hell, Ellie?" He got out of bed and turned the lamp on. He was shocked at the force with which Ellie punched him. He looked in the mirror to inspect the state of his face. "You blacked my goddamn eye."

Ellie was trying frantically to apologize. "Joel, I am so fucking sorry. It was just... a bad dream."

Joel knew immediately what she meant. "I see." She had kept the memory bottled up for too long. It was time she spit it out. He sat in the bed and spoke to her sternly. "Alright. I know this is about last winter. Now you're gonna talk about it. I ain't askin' you this time."

Ellie sat up and readied herself for what she was about to say. She wasn't ready to talk about it yet, but Joel wasn't going to take no for an answer. She began tearing up before she even started speaking. "Okay, I'll tell you." She took a long pause; this was going to be difficult. "I was out hunting for food one day. I found a deer and began tracking it through the woods. I got it with an arrow, but it took a long time to bleed out, and it led me into this old abandoned town. There were these two guys there; their names were David _(just saying the name put a bitter taste in her mouth)_ and James. David offered to trade me supplies for the meat, and knowing you were hurt, I asked him for antibiotics. He sent James to get the medicine and we took shelter and built a fire in an old building. That's where we got swarmed by infected." She was keeping a hold of herself well so far, but she was still on the easy part. "We fought off what seemed like hundreds of infected. Runners, Clickers, Bloaters, almost non-stop. I still don't know how it's possible, but we both made it with only a couple bruises. We went back to make sure the deer was still there, and... that's when David revealed who he actually was." Ellie found herself unable to continue speaking.

Joel was listening intently to her story, and he tried to get her to keep talking. "Who was he?"

She gathered herself and continued with the story. "He knew who I was. He was the one who sent the men to the University... the ones that tried to kill us."

Joel was shocked at the revelation, just as Ellie was at the time. "What happened next?" he asked.

"Up until that point I had actually began to trust him. Once he said that, I knew I had to get out of there. James got back with the medicine, but I could tell he wanted to kill me. He would've if David hadn't told him to let me go. I took the medicine and hauled ass back to the house where I was keeping you. When I woke up the next morning, I heard voices outside. I looked out the window and saw that they followed me. At that point, all I cared about was making sure you were safe. I rode out on Callus to lead them away from you, but they started shooting at me. They killed Callus, and I fell off a cliff into the resort. I fought through there and almost got out..." she became choked up at the memory of what happened next. "But David caught me. He choked me out, and I woke up in a cell in a kitchen."

She was beginning to lose her grip on her emotions. She was still not at the most difficult part yet. "Ellie, it's okay," Joel reassured her. "Once you get it out, you'll feel better."

She nodded, and continued. "I saw James hacking up a dead body... a human body. The savages were fucking cannibals. David came into the kitchen and tried talking nice to me, but I knew he was full of shit. He told me he thought I could come around. He told me I was... special... and then the fucking sicko grabbed my hand." She wiped the tears away from her eyes. "I broke his finger and tried to grab the keys on his belt, but he grabbed onto my arm and slammed me into the door. I fell asleep, then James woke me up and he and David threw me onto the fucking butcher table, but not before I bit David. David was about to cut off my head, but then I thought of something that turned out to save my life. I told him I was infected, and since I bit him, he was too. He rolled up my sleeve and saw the bite, and he actually bought it. I grabbed the knife and killed James and got my ass out of there. I fought my way through the town in the middle of a blizzard, and ended up in an old restaurant." She felt a knot form in her chest, and she began crying harder. She did not think she could continue. "I can't... I can't..."

Joel put an arm around her shoulders. "You can, Ellie. I'm here for you."

She sniffled, and tried to gather herself. "I became trapped in there with David. I managed to jump on his back and stab him, but he grabbed me and slammed me down on the ground, and I blacked out. When I came to, I was in a lot of pain. I saw David's machete was close and I started crawling to it." The more she talked, the more she cried. "David kicked me in the ribs, and I couldn't move after that. He got on top of me..." Ellie was reduced to a blubbering wreck. She tried to keep talking, but she was difficult to understand through her sobbing. "Joel... he was gonna..." she lowered her voice to a whisper, "...he was gonna rape me."

She doubled over in tears, and Joel wrapped his arms around her tightly. "It's okay, baby girl, it's okay." She wrapped her arms around him just as tight, and savored the warmth and comfort the embrace provided.

"Joel... I've never been the same since then. I don't think those wounds will ever heal."

"Yes they will, Ellie. You just have to give it time." Seeing Ellie in such emotional disarray was pushing him to the verge of tears. He managed to keep them contained though. "I'll always be here for you, just remember that."

Her crying stopped as she hugged Joel just a little bit tighter. "Thank you, Joel."

Joel felt a change of topic was necessary. "You know, you hit real hard for a scrawny little girl," he said as he let go.

Ellie chuckled and blushed a little bit. "Yeah. Back in Boston I kinda had a reputation of being a... scrapper."

Joel raised an eyebrow. "You were a scrapper, huh?"

"Yeah. I got into a lot of fights. That's how I got this," she said as she gestured to the scar that cut through her right eyebrow. "I was instigating someone bigger than me and he smashed my head on a desk."

Joel laughed under his breath. "You know, now that you mention it, I can't say I'm surprised."

"I was also kinda a bully. I'd pick on a lot of kids that were smaller than me... I was a dick."

Joel patted her on the head. "We all go through phases."

She went into deep thought, and realized that Joel was right. "Joel, I'm glad we talked. I do feel better now."

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him. "See. What'd I tell ya? It's good to get that stuff out."

"From now on, I won't keep anything from you.

* * *

**That concludes chapter 11 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: The community of Jackson revives an old American tradition.**


	12. Chapter 12: Freeze

**Author's Notes (PLEASE READ): There was a little bit of a situation with the chapters of the story. This was not supposed to be the 12th chapter, I had planned to have a different one. I ended up scrapping that one because frankly it was garbage. I put no thought into it, no effort, it was uninspired, and just wasn't up to the standards of the rest of the story. Instead of re-working it, I just skipped ahead to what would have been the chapter after that one because I couldn't find any way to recycle that theme. So what the ending note in chapter 11 said about "reviving an American tradition", forget that. That never happened.**

**So about this chapter: It can't be a true TLOU winter without something going horribly wrong. It will get really interesting towards the end, aka a mean cliffhanger. Just giving you a heads up beforehand. This chapter is also shorter than the others, but the next one will probably be longer.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 12: Freeze

Winter had taken the place of fall in the valley, and with it came the bitter chill of the Wyoming December. Thankfully for Ellie, the memories from the winter before had subsided, at least for the time being. She could actually enjoy the snow like a normal teenage girl was supposed to. She and Hannah had even gone sledding down the street just outside the gate a couple times under the supervision of the guards. She was glad that she told Joel about last winter, because, like he said, she would feel better.

* * *

Joel, Ellie, Hannah, and Jeffrey all sat down at the booth with Tommy and Maria. Their plates were already waiting for them, so they could chow down as soon as they got there. "It's getting really cold out there," Ellie observed. Back in Boston, the winters never got that cold. Even the winter from the year before didn't seem as cold, except when she got caught in the blizzard.

"And it's only gonna get worse," Tommy said. "I assume y'all have heard Lyle's prediction by now."

Joel paused. He had heard that name around town, but couldn't put a face to it. He certainly hadn't heard anything about his prediction. "Lyle…" he ran through every face he had seen at Jackson, trying to remember who he was. "Is he the guy that's descended from the Native Americans that used to be in this area?"

"Yeah, that's him. He's the last survivin' member of his tribe. Anyway, he said that this winter's gonna be the worst this area's seen in over a hundred years. He knows his shit when it comes to weather, so I don't question him at all."

The news got Ellie down really quickly. "The worst in a hundred years?"

"Yeah. We'll have to really keep an eye on the plant because that river could freeze over completely. Not just a little ice on the surface; completely frozen."

"Well shit," Ellie said. "I think we're gonna need to get warmer clothes, Joel."

"So do we, dad," Hannah said to Jeffrey.

"We'll all head over to Paul's later to trade for some warmer clothing," Jeffrey said to the whole group. "They might be in kinda short supply though, so we might not be able to get a whole lot."

"Some is better than none at all," Ellie said. "Right now, let's eat."

* * *

Ellie and Joel were on their way over to Paul's with supplies to trade for winter clothing. Hannah and Jeffrey were going to see him later; since they had volunteered to help clean up around the diner. Joel and Ellie saw a large crowd gathered around Paul's house, and they all seemed to be furious at him.

"Were you even thinking, old man?! I think you're starting to go fucking senile!" one of the voices screamed.

"I'm sorry about this, but it was a fair deal," Paul defended himself.

"Fair to Lyle maybe, but what about us?!"

"He paid rightfully. What was I supposed to do, turn him away?"

"You certainly didn't have to give all the clothes away!"

Joel felt the need to step in. "What the hell's goin' on here?"

One of the people turned to Joel to explain what all the fuss was about. "Paul here, knowing that this winter's going to be brutal per Lyle's prediction, gave away all the winter clothes to him. He left the rest of us out in the cold, literally."

Paul interjected. "How many times do I have to tell you I didn't give them away?! I work in barter, it was a barter deal. He gave me supplies, I gave him what I saw as having equal value."

"You didn't have to give him all the clothes though!"

"I gave him what he asked for!"

The man doing the screaming at Paul turned back to Joel. "Joel, chime in for us here." Joel looked back and forth between the crowd and Paul. He could understand why they were all upset, but Paul had technically done no wrong. He and Lyle had made a simple barter, and Lyle was looking to stock up on winter clothes. "Anything to say, Joel?"

Joel didn't want to take sides, because he observed that there was no winning side to this argument. "If Lyle paid for his clothes... Paul ain't at fault-"

The entire crowd started screaming at Joel. He and Ellie quickly turned around and went back to the house. As they walked away, they heard one voice screaming at them amongst the chatter of the crowd. "Yeah, walk away! You'll freeze just like we all will!"

On the way back, they passed Jeffrey and Hannah each carrying a bag on their shoulders. They noticed that neither Joel nor Ellie were carrying any winter clothes. "Did you get any clothes?" Jeffrey asked.

"Paul's out," Joel told them.

"How can he be out?"

"We just waited too long to get them. It's first come, first serve, and we were too late."

"Well, now what?" Hannah asked her dad.

"I guess we'll just have to find other ways to keep warm. At least the house has good heat."

"Yeah, but you heard Tommy," Joel chimed in. "It's gonna be so cold, the river could freeze over and the whole plant could go down."

Jeffrey sighed as he recalled what Tommy said. "Well I guess we'll just have to pray it doesn't."

It was early morning of the next day. Everyone in the house was still asleep, and was not aware that it was abnormally cold in the house. Suddenly, Ellie awoke and immediately reacted to the bitter cold in the room. "Oh, fuck!" She sat up quickly in bed and hugged herself tightly, trying to warm herself up.

Her scream woke Joel up as well. "Ellie, what the - Goddamn!"

"Why the fuck is it so cold in here?" she asked as she got out of bed.

"I guess the plant went out after all. I wasn't expectin' it to do it this early into winter though."

"Did the plant go out or just our heat?" Ellie flicked up the light switch, and the lamps in the room both lit up. "Still got power, so it's not the plant. Our heat must've just gone out. Holy shit it's cold in here!"

There was a knock on their bedroom door, and they both called out for whoever it was to come in. Hannah opened the door and stepped in, shivering heavily. "Hey, why is it so cold in here?"

"Our heat went out," Joel told her. "No goddamn idea why though. We've still got power," he turned on the lamp to show her, "we just don't got heat."

Hannah stood in silence for a moment. "Well... I guess we better bundle up."

* * *

Ellie and Hannah sat on the couch downstairs, tightly bundled up in as much clothing as they could wear comfortably. Despite their multiple layers of clothing, they were still shivering. "Damn, I'm freezing my tits off," Ellie said.

"Stick the ends of your scarf down your shirt; it'll keep them warm," Hannah told her.

Ellie turned to Hannah. "I don't stuff, Hannah. I'd like to think I have a little more dignity than that."

"Yeah, that's always been pretty clear," she joked. Hannah frequently teased Ellie about that, but in reality she was no bigger.

"Shut up. Yours are even smaller so you have absolutely no room to talk."

"I'm shorter and thinner than you, so that's expected. Now seriously, would you rather be cold?"

Ellie decided that the need to keep warm outweighed her dignity. "You better not go spreading shit about me stuffing," she told Hannah as she tucked her scarf down her shirt.

"No guarantees," she said.

"Hannah, I swear to God..."

Hannah just laughed. She wasn't actually going to spread anything, but she didn't want Ellie to know that. The girls teased each other often, but they both felt that they were above spreading rumors about each other.

The girls heard Joel coming down the stairs. He had been checking the thermostat upstairs to see if it was malfunctioning, and he came down to share his findings. "Absolutely no problem with the thermostat. The heat is switched on, there's no loose connections, nothin'."

Just then, Jeffrey came inside. He had gone out around town asking people if they were experiencing the same problem. "I talked to everyone on our street. All of them still have their heat. It's just us."

"This doesn't make any damn sense," Joel said, frustrated.

Ellie weighed in. "You know, I had a thought-"

"You did? Congratulations!" Hannah butted in. Ellie turned to glare at Hannah and stared at her for a few seconds.

"Shut up."

"Make me." Ellie elbowed Hannah in the ribs, indicating that she had had enough with the joking around. "Ow. Okay, sorry."

"Seriously though, and this may sound like a stupid thought, but what if this is sabotage?"

Jeffrey thought the idea was ludicrous. "Now come on, Ellie. Who would try to sabotage-"

"Jeffrey, at least let her explain," Joel interrupted. Jeffrey got quiet immediately. "What do you mean, Ellie?"

"Well, those guys weren't exactly thrilled when you took Paul's side in the Lyle ordeal. That one guy did say we would freeze, and maybe since we're the only ones having this problem, and we're the only ones who backed up Paul, it's not a coincidence."

"What the hell's she talking about, Joel? What's this about taking Paul's side and threats to you?"

"Paul traded the last of the winter clothes to Lyle and-"

"He what? Why would he do that?"

"Because Lyle paid for the clothes rightfully, that's how barter works. Now I've already been involved in a big debate with this topic so can we just forget about it?"

Jeffrey backed off a bit at Joel's raised voice. "Okay, sorry."

Joel then turned back to Ellie. "I highly doubt that someone intentionally knocked our heat out just because they were mad at us for taking Paul's side."

"Well..." she said. "You never know. Could you at least go check?"

"Would it really make you feel better?" Ellie nodded. "Fine. I'll go into the crawlspace and look." He grabbed a flashlight and walked outside to go to the crawlspace.

"I got an idea that will help warm it up in here," Ellie announced as she stood up off the couch.

"Shoot," Hannah said.

Ellie walked over to the stove and turned all the burners on full power. "Since we still have power, we can turn the burners on and it'll help warm the place up. At least it will in the kitchen." She held her hands over the burners being careful not to touch them. "Come on over here, it's already getting warm."

"That's a really good idea, Ellie," she said as she went over to the stove next to Ellie.

"Hannah, that coat is made of fur. Be careful around that stove because it'll go up like nothing."

"Yeah yeah," she moaned. She and Ellie enjoyed the heat that came off of the stove. "It really is warming up fast."

"I can feel it from over here," Jeffrey added. He was about ten feet away from the stove, but the heat coming off of it was strong enough that he could feel it as well.

After a few minutes, Joel came back inside with what he found out. "Well, I got bad news, good news, and bad news again."

"Oh, great," Ellie sighed. "Tell us the first bad news."

"I checked the furnace in the crawlspace, and all the lines have been disconnected. Some asshole must've done it last night."

"I fucking knew it," Ellie said under her breath. "What about the good news?"

"The good news is that it shouldn't be too hard to reconnect the lines."

"And the other bad news?" Jeffrey asked.

"We don't have the tools needed to do that." He walked around the room and noticed that it was warmer than before. "Why's it warmer all of a sudden? I ain't complainin' but I'm just curious."

"Ellie had the idea to turn the burners on the stove on. Worked a lot better than I thought it would," Jeffrey told him.

"Uh-huh..." Joel said as he walked over to the girls by the stove. "Alright, shoo. Share the heat." The girls moaned in unison as Joel made them surrender the joyous warmth of the stove. "We'll take turns, don't worry. Just go sit on the couch for now."

"What a dick," Ellie whispered to Hannah as they walked away.

"Don't think I didn't hear that," Joel said.

The girls sat on the couch, but after a few minutes Ellie began to feel off. She felt a tingling throughout her body, and she even thought she was sweating. "Joel, I feel weird."

Joel turned away from the stove and walked towards Ellie. "Weird how?"

"Well..." she hesitated. "Even though I'm freezing to the bone right now, I'm sweating bullets."

"Sweatin'-" Joel said silently, and went into a panic. Cold sweats usually meant fevers. He quickly put his hand up against Ellie's forehead, and indeed she had an extremely high fever. "Shit you're burnin' up. Jeffrey!" Jeffrey quickly ran over to Joel. "Go get Brenda over here immediately. Ellie's runnin' a fever and she's pale as a ghost."

"On it!" He sprinted out of the house and slammed the door behind him.

"Joel, I'm dizzy," Ellie said as her head started swaying back and forth.

Joel put his hands on Ellie's cheeks to keep her head still, and looked into her eyes. "Focus, Ellie. Focus on me. Now tell me, what exactly do you feel?"

"I'm sweating, I feel a tingling all over, I'm lightheaded..." she stopped talking and slowly started to slump forwards.

"Ellie, stay with me!" He let go of her and let her fall back against the couch. "Hannah, take off your jacket and give it to Ellie," Joel demanded.

Hannah was concerned about Ellie, but also reluctant to give up her jacket. "Joel, it's freezing-"

"Hannah, Ellie might be dyin' over here!" he shouted. "I think she needs your jacket more than you do!"

When Joel mentioned that Ellie might be dying, she took her jacket off without second thought.

Ellie was barely conscious, but Joel helped her slip into Hannah's jacket. "Joel... I'm really faint" Ellie barely managed to say.

"Let's get her over to by the stove," Hannah said.

"No, she needs to lie down." He picked Ellie up in his arms and walked quickly up the stairs while whispering to her. "Stay with me, baby girl. Stay with me Ellie. You're gonna be okay, girl." He set her in the bed and covered her in the sheets. She was shaking terribly, and it was not just from the cold. "Ellie!" Joel raised his voice to try and get Ellie to hear him.

"Joel, what's happening to her?!" Hannah asked frantically.

"I don't know!" Joel screamed as he turned to her. Before he turned back, he felt Ellie stop shaking. He looked back at her and saw that her eyes were closed. "Ellie?" He tried to get a response from her, but she remained motionless. "Ellie, don't do this to me," his voice began to break, "Don't you dare... do this to me" He lifted up her eyelids to look, and saw that her eyes had rolled back into her head. "Sweet Jesus," he said weakly. He felt a pit in his stomach and a lump in his throat.

"Joel," Hannah said, "is she... dead?"

To Be Continued...

* * *

**That concludes chapter 12 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: In a race against time to save Ellie, Brenda finds herself out of her element.**

**Remember: Your feedback is what keeps me going. If you want to find out Ellie's fate, leave a review.**


	13. Chapter 13: Heaven

**Author's Notes: Yeah, I told you that would be a big cliffhanger. Some of you have voiced your concern about Ellie possibly dying, and I want to reiterate that no character in my story is safe. ANY character could die at ANY time. It could be Ellie, Joel, Tommy, Maria, hell it could even be the dog, Buckley. I won't reveal whether she dies in this chapter or not though, you'll have to find out for yourself.**

**I also thought I would try something a little different in this chapter. It may be a little out there compared to the rest of the story, but I hope it's not too weird.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 13: Heaven

"Joel," Hannah asked, "is she… dead?" Joel was frozen, not from the cold, but from the fear that he had just lost another daughter. After a few seconds he put his fingers to Ellie's neck to check for life. He was relieved to find a pulse, but it was faint. He sighed, but it was not enough of an answer for Hannah. "Well?"

"No, she's not dead…" Joel had to just pray that Brenda would show up soon and be able to do something. He also needed to get his hands on whoever cut their heat and make them realize their mistake.

"Will she make it?" Hannah was just as concerned as Joel was.

Joel waited before answering her. "I wish I knew, kid."

The front door opened and Jeffrey called out as he walked in. "Joel! Brenda's here!"

"Thank you God," he said quietly. "Hannah, stay here with Ellie." Joel jogged down the stairs and saw Jeffrey, Brenda, and Nicky downstairs. Brenda was carrying a large bag which Joel could see contained all her medical supplies. "Brenda, I'm so glad you're here. Ellie's really sick and I don't know what's wrong with her."

"Well… I'm definitely no stranger to these kinds of ailments. I'll do everything I can. I brought Nicky along to get some firsthand experience."

"I hope Ellie's okay," the young girl said.

"We all do. Now come on, she's upstairs." Joel led the group upstairs into the room Ellie was in. Hannah was sitting on the bed holding Ellie's hand, comforting herself more so than Ellie. "Hannah, get off the bed and let Brenda take a look at her." Hannah did as she was asked and Brenda went in to examine Ellie.

The first thing she did was take Ellie's pulse. It was slower than it should be. She lifted up Ellie's eyelids and shined a light into her eyes. Her eyes had rolled back into her head, which was unusual. "Well... her body's shut down but she's not quite comatose. It's unlikely but not impossible that she could slip into a coma. If that happens... she may as well be dead. I don't have the equipment necessary to support someone in a coma."

"You said that's unlikely though?" Jeffrey asked.

"That's right." She went back to examining Ellie, but she was stumped. "Well... this is a first for me."

"What do you mean?" Joel asked somewhat concernedly.

"I never thought I would say this..." she hesitated. She knew what she was going to say would not go over well. "I'm out of my element."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Joel growled at her.

"In my fifty years of being a nurse, I've never seen anything quite like what's happening to Ellie right now."

Joel threw up his arms in frustration and anger. "You're a goddamn quack."

Brenda took great offense to that. She was normally an extremely gentle-tempered old woman, but she did appreciate Joel's comment. She slapped him across the face, taking everyone in the room by surprise. "How dare you talk to me like that! I have been a nurse almost as long as you've been alive! My mother was a nurse before me! Her mother was a nurse in the middle of a warzone during World War Two! I've cured more ailments than you probably know exist. So when I say something, you better not have the nerve to question it!"

Joel was shocked at Brenda's outburst, as everybody was. "Well, can you save her?"

"I don't know. You have to understand that this puts me in a very bad spot. I'm scared... I really am. If I don't know what's wrong with her... I don't know if I can save her."

"I don't like this, Brenda."

"I'm not asking you to. I don't like it either. I'm just asking you to have a little faith."

"I'm with Brenda," Jeffrey stepped in. Joel turned to him. "She has a lot of experience, and she obviously knows what she's talking about. If she says something's new to her, I'm not gonna question it. I trust her judgement, and I suggest you do the same if you want Ellie to make it through alive."

Joel didn't completely trust someone who didn't know what she was getting into, but it was his only chance to see Ellie wake up. "Fine," he said as he turned to Brenda.

"Okay," she opened her bag and looked inside, but then looked back at Joel. "Hey, Joel." He didn't look directly at Brenda, but listened to what she was saying. "I'm sorry I hit you."

He turned towards her after he heard her apology. "No, I understand. What I said was outta line and you were stressed to begin with."

"Well then... it's good that we can both admit we're at fault. You still have your power, right?"

"Yeah," Joel told her.

"Nicky, go back to the house and get the heated blanket."

"Yes, ma'am," she said as she ran out of the room. She stopped at the doorway with a question. "Where in the house is it?"

"It's upstairs. It's green plaid and it should be on the chair across from my bed."

"Got it," they heard her run down the stairs and out the door.

Brenda reached into her bag and pulled out a syringe and a vile with some kind of medicine. "Now... the first thing I'm going to do is give her this." She drew the medicine from the vial and held it up, checking her measurement. "It will help normalize her internal body temperature." She grabbed the sleeve on Ellie's right arm to pull it up. Joel quickly stopped her so she wouldn't see the bite on her arm.

"Wait, stop," Joel said as he grabbed Ellie's arm. Brenda pulled back, confused as to why Joel would try to stop her. He realized that it was unavoidable that they would end up seeing the bite, so he would have to get it out there. "Before you give her anythin' I need to show you somethin'." He grabbed the end of her sleeve. "Now what I'm about to show you does not leave this room, you understand me? Not one word to anybody, do not even hint at it."

"I understand," Brenda said. "But what could it possibly be if you're keeping it so secret?"

Joel didn't answer, but instead said, "Now try not to panic when I roll up her sleeve." Brenda, Jeffrey, and Hannah nodded, and Joel rolled of Ellie's sleeve to reveal the bite scar.

Everyone's mouths fell open. "Is that what I think it is?" Brenda said as she took a step backwards.

"It's over a year and a half old," Joel informed them.

"That's impossible," Brenda said as she shook her said.

"That's what I said when she first revealed it to me. We've been together for eighteen months and she had that mark before I met her. She's immune."

Brenda was silent from the shocking revelation. "Oh," she simply said.

"I'm glad you said that now," Jeffrey said, "because if Brenda revealed that without you saying anything, I probably would have shot Ellie."

"We can't have that, now can we?" Joel asked.

Looking at the mark made Brenda feel sick. "Okay, I'm going to inject this into her other arm so I don't have to look at that." She rolled up Ellie's left sleeve and stuck the needle into her forearm. "That should bring her internal temperature down to a more stable level. As long as it's this cold in here, her body will not be able to properly regulate her temperature on its own. We need to wait for Nicky to get back with the heated blanket."

After a few minutes they heard the front door open, and Nicky came running upstairs. "I got the blanket," she said as she handed it to Brenda.

"Thank you." Brenda covered Ellie up to her shoulders with the blanket, and plugged it into the wall. "It'll take some time to warm up, but it should help."

"We can only hope," Joel said. He was very on edge. He watched as Brenda and Nicky continued to work on Ellie. The whole time he was thinking about what would happen if Ellie didn't make it. He had never truly felt like he could actually lose her until now. Now that he knew there was a definite chance that Ellie would not wake up, he realized that there was no way he'd be able to handle her death. After about ten minutes of waiting, Brenda spoke up with bad news.

"I'm not usually one to be a downer, but..." she hesitated, and couldn't finish her thought.

"But what?" Joel asked with his voice slightly breaking.

Brenda sighed. "Ellie's chances of survival are lower than I expected."

Joel looked over at Hannah and Nicky, and saw that they were on the verge of tears. "What are her chances?" He didn't really want to know; he was afraid Brenda's estimate would make him break down.

"As it stands right now... fifty percent? Best-case scenario sixty percent, but that's very generous."

Fifty percent was too low for Joel. He felt a tear start to form in his eye, but it never escaped. "Excuse me," he mumbled and walked out of the door. The group in the bedroom heard him go down the stairs.

"I'll go see what he's doing," Jeffrey said as he went down to check on Joel.

* * *

He got downstairs and saw Joel sitting on the couch resting his elbows on his knees with his hands folded against his forehead. "I know this must be hard for you. If I was in your shoes and it was Hannah that was sick, I'd be acting the same way."

"I can't go through this again," Joel said. He had never told Jeffrey about Sarah. It was a memory he tried to never bring up.

"What do you mean again?" Jeffrey inquired.

Joel took his hands away from his head and tried to keep a hold on his emotions. "I never told you 'bout this but... back when the outbreak first started... I lost my daughter."

The words struck Jeffrey right in the heart. Having a child die was an unthinkable tragedy that nobody should have to go through. Jeffrey could feel a tear run down his face just thinking about what would happen if he lost Hannah. "Shit, I had no idea."

"She had got her leg broken, I carried her to the edge of town to get her to safety. There was a soldier there, and I begged him to help us..." Joel grew emotional as he was describing the event that shattered his world forever. "But he didn't. He open fired on us... and Sarah was hit." Jeffrey felt genuine sorrow for Joel. "She died in my arms..." he began to cry, "...she was just twelve. Too goddamn young."

Jeffrey sat down on the couch next to Joel and put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "One thing's for sure, you're a hell of a lot stronger than I am. If that had happened to Hannah... no way in hell would I have been able to keep going."

"That night has stuck with me ever since it happened. It still haunts me every night. If Ellie doesn't make it... I don't know what I'd do."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Jeffrey tried to reassure him.

* * *

Joel and Jeffrey sat on the couch for about a half an hour when they heard someone coming down the stairs. "Brenda told me to leave her and Nicky alone while they try to save Ellie," Hannah said as she stepped out of the stairwell. "But she told me to pass on good news." Joel perked up when Hannah mentioned she had good news.

"What good news?" Joel asked.

"Brenda thinks she's had a break-through. She said she's confident Ellie will be awake and well soon."

Joel breathed a sigh of relief when Hannah passed on the news. They weren't out of the woods yet, but they could see where the trees end. "We just gotta keep prayin' that she'll be fine."

"Like I said," Jeffrey said as he placed his hand on Joel's shoulder, "she'll be fine."

The three of them waited on the couch for a while, when Brenda came down the stairs. "How is she?" Joel asked as he stood up.

"She's awake..." Joel breathed the biggest sigh of relief he could ever remember, "...but she's very groggy. Nicky's with her right now talking to her."

"So she's communicating?" Joel asked.

"Somewhat. She's a little hard to understand because of how groggy she is, but that will improve."

"Brenda, thank you so much."

"My work's not done yet. I'm going to go back up to check on her in a little bit, but for now she's fine-"

"Brenda!" Nicky called from up the stairs. They heard footsteps scrambling on the floor above them and storm down the stairs. "Brenda!" Nicky poked her head around the corner of the stairwell. "Something's wrong with Ellie!"

"What?!" Joel screamed as he ran past Brenda and up the stairs.

"I think she's dying!" Nicky screamed as Joel ran past her.

"That's not possible," Brenda insisted.

* * *

Ellie was convulsing in the bed. Joel ran into the room and went straight to the bed and lifted her up by her shoulders. "Ellie, you cannot do this! Do you hear me? You CAN'T-"

Jeffrey grabbed Joel and pulled him away from the bed. "Joel, get back and let Brenda get to her!"

"Ellie, stay with us!" Brenda said as she sat down on the bed next to her. "Ellie, focus on the light." She shined the flashlight in her eyes to observe the reactions. Her pupils barely changed. "Her eyes aren't responding the way they should be." She put her hands on Ellie's cheeks. "Ellie, it's gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay." Suddenly the seizing stopped, and her eyes were stuck open. "Ellie?" Brenda waved her hand inches away from Ellie's face. She did not blink, her eyes did not react in any way. "Ellie, no! Come on, Ellie!" She put her fingers to Ellie's neck to check her pulse, and was shocked at what she felt, or rather didn't feel.

* * *

Ellie found herself in a bed different than the one she lay in before. It was different than any bed she had ever laid in. It was more comfortable too. She opened her eyes to find that she was in a room she had never seen. It was all white, and there was a skylight on the ceiling above the bed that let a bright light shine onto it. She looked directly into the bright light, but it was not blinding; it was comforting. She sat up and observed that she was wearing an all-white gown that went from her shoulders to her feet. She caught sight of her right forearm, and the bite was not there. The thing most weird to her was the way she felt. No matter how happy she was, there was always sadness or fear that she could feel deep down. She felt neither of those now.

She stood up out of the bed to observe the room she was in. There were no doors or ways in. It was just a big white box: four walls, a floor, and a ceiling. She was looking around when she heard a familiar voice behind her that she had not heard in a long time. "Hello, Ellie."

Ellie turned around quickly to see Riley standing there in an identical gown. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Riley? Is that you?"

"Yeah." Ellie could not say anything. She was in shock to see her friend who died over a year ago standing there. "I missed you, Ellie."

Ellie said the first thing that came to her. "But... you're dead."

Riley stood there, and nodded. "I know."

Ellie became confused, and worried. "Does that mean I'm..."

Riley didn't say anything, but the look on her face gave Ellie the answer.

"No... I can't be dead. I need to be with Joel."

"You need to let Joel go."

"No. He needs me... and I need him," she began to cry.

"You don't need to worry about him anymore. He'll be fine without you."

"No he won't. You don't know him, you don't know what I mean to him and what he means to me."

"Ellie, would I lie to you? Have I ever lied to you?"

Ellie thought back, and realized that in the short time her and Riley were friends, she never lied once. "No."

"And I'm not lying this time. You've lived your life, now it's time to move on."

Just then, Ellie heard another voice behind her. This voice she did not recognize. "Oh, Ellie, it's so good to see you again, dear."

She turned around to see a woman she had never seen before. At least not that she could remember. "Um... sorry, I feel like I should know you."

"I didn't think you would," the woman said. There was deep affection in her voice. "We were only together for a very short time. But I want you to know that those few moments I spent with you... were the best moments of my life."

Ellie realized that there was only one person she could be. "Mom?"

Ellie's mom smiled seeing her daughter again. "Look at you. You were just a newborn when I last saw you... Now you're all grown up." A happy tear formed in her eye. "I've been watching you. I watched you grow up and become the young woman I always knew you'd be. I'm proud of you, Ellie."

Ellie didn't feel like there was much to be proud of. The one thing that was supposed to come of her life never happened. "I let you down," Ellie said.

"Don't say that, of course you didn't."

"I was supposed to hold the key to the cure for mankind. Since nothing came of it, nothing was accomplished because of my life."

"That was beyond your control. The fact that you were willing to make the sacrifice means your heart was always in the right place. And don't think that was the only thing that could have come of your life. Look at Joel. You made him happy again. That alone should be an accomplishment."

Ellie thought about what her mother said. Helping one man paled in comparison to opening the gate to a cure for all of mankind. Still, she couldn't deny everything that she did for Joel. "I guess you're right."

Ellie's mom extended a hand out to her. Seemingly subconsciously, she reached her own hand out too and began walking towards her mother. All it took was for their hands to touch, and Ellie would no longer have to live in an evil world. She could live in a world without fear, sadness, or pain. It would mean leaving Joel behind, but she would have her mother again. She would have a true parental figure as opposed to someone who merely thought of her as his kid. She figured that Riley and her mom were right. Joel would be fine without her, and it was time for her to move onto something greater. Her fingers were just about to touch her mother's, when she felt a jolt through her body, causing her to yell as she was pulled down to the floor. "Come back, Ellie," she heard her mother say.

"What's happening?" she asked in a panic.

"Ellie, come back to us," her mom said again.

Suddenly the floor dropped away, and Ellie fell down fast. She fell seemingly thousands of feet in an instant, before slamming down hard.

* * *

Ellie's body jolted as Brenda jammed the adrenaline booster into her heart. "Come back, Ellie," Joel pleaded. The upper layers of clothing had been removed from her so Brenda could get the needle through to her heart. The blanket kept her covered though so nobody would see her bare chest. "Ellie, come back to us," Joel pleaded again, louder than the first. Brenda jammed a second booster into her heart, and Joel heard a puff of air com from her mouth. He put his finger to her neck, "I got a pulse!" he exclaimed.

"That's not good enough," Brenda said as she reached into her bag. "I've only got one booster left. This has to work or else she's gone."

"Stop talking and use it!" Joel demanded. Brenda jammed the third and final adrenaline booster into her heart, and Joel felt her pulse get stronger. "Ellie?" He looked into her face. Her eyes were still closed, but she was breathing at last. "Ellie, come on, baby girl." He pleaded some more, hoping she would hear him and wake up... but she didn't.

* * *

Joel, Jeffrey, and Hannah sat on the couch downstairs. They were nervously awaiting Brenda's final verdict on whether or not Ellie would survive. The tension in the air was palpable. Then they heard Brenda and Nicky coming down the stairs. They were about to find out if Ellie would live or die. Joel got up and went right over to Brenda after she stepped out of the stairwell. "Brenda, is Ellie gonna make it?"

Brenda bowed her head. "After doing everything in my power to try and save her..." she hesitated, and Joel just knew what she was going to say. He knew Brenda was going to say that Ellie didn't make it. She picked her head up, and smiled. "She'll be just fine."

"Oh, thank you Jesus," Joel said as he doubled over with relief. "Bless you, Brenda," he said as he hugged her.

Hannah came over to Brenda and hugged her as well. "Thank you for saving her." she said.

"She'll need a lot of rest over the next few days. She really shouldn't even leave the bed."

"Can I go talk to her?" he asked. With the ordeal he just went through, he had a lot to tell Ellie.

"She's able to communicate, but she'll probably want to be left alone for now."

"No, I need to talk to her," he insisted.

"Help yourself."

"I'd like to talk to her, too," Hannah said as she followed Joel up the stairs.

"Let me talk to her first," he told her.

* * *

Ellie lay in the bed with her eyes closed, trying to take a nap. Her clothes had been put back on with the help of Brenda, to which everyone was thankful. The door to the room was open, but Joel knocked anyways. "Ellie?" he asked gently. Ellie opened her eyes and smiled, but didn't say anything. "Mind if I come in and talk?" Ellie nodded, indicating that she had no objections to Joel coming to talk to her. He walked in and sat down on the bed next to her. "You know, you gave us all a real scare." Ellie shrugged her shoulders. "You know... for a while I was afraid I'd have to go through what I went through with Sarah all over again. I'm glad you're okay." He had never come that close to losing Ellie, and it was in that moment when he realized that he could lose her at any moment. There was something he needed to tell her, before his chance was gone. "I love you, Ellie. I love you like a daughter. Just like my own daughter, I'd go to any length to make sure you're okay."

"Joel?" she asked weakly.

"Yeah?"

"When I was out, I saw..." she closed her eyes tightly, as if she was trying to conjure up and image of what she saw, "...I saw..."

"What did you see?" Joel asked.

"Riley..." she said, "...and my mom. What does that mean?"

"It don't matter." He reached out and started stroking her hair, grateful that she was still alive. "What matters is that you're here right now."

"Do you think it was Heaven that I saw?"

Joel hesitated. Although he was brought up that way, he didn't know if Heaven was still something he could believe in. "I don't know. Would it make you more comfortable if I said it was?"

She chuckled slightly. "Yeah, it would."

"Then yes... it was Heaven."

She decided to change topics. "So... that makes it twice now I've cheated death?" Joel nodded. "Think I can go three for three?" she asked as she smiled.

"Now I'm gonna stop you right there. We ain't never gonna have to find that out. That ain't somethin' to joke about either."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."

"I'm really glad you're okay. Now, there's someone else who'd like to see you." Joel got up and motioned for Hannah to come into the room. She smiled when she saw that Ellie was awake. Ellie smiled back, and Joel stepped into the hallway to give them more space.

"Hey, you," Hannah said playfully.

"Hey, you," Ellie responded.

"I was really worried about you. You almost died on us." She realized after she said it that it wasn't a great thing to say to someone.

"Yeah. Hey, I need to ask you something."

"Shoot," Hannah said.

"Why did I not have any shirts on when I woke up?"

"We needed to take them off so the needles from the adrenaline boosters would get through cleanly."

"Did you see my tits?" she asked extremely bashfully.

"Um..." Hannah said, then went to whisper in Ellie's ear.

Ellie blushed horribly. "Oh, God, that's so embarrassing," she said as she cringed. "I'm glad I wasn't conscious to hear that."

"It's okay. Everyone was so concerned with making sure you survived that they weren't the slightest bit bothered."

"Why would Nicky say something like that in that situation?"

Hannah shrugged her shoulders. "I'm so relieved you managed to pull through. I really thought you were dead."

"In a way I was," Ellie said.

"Well, you're not now. I'll let you get some rest; I'm sure you really want that."

"Yeah."

* * *

**That concludes chapter 13 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: Guards of Jackson embark on a daring rescue mission led by a bizarre outsider.**


	14. Chapter 14: Rescue

**Author's Notes (Sorry it's so long): ****I want to apologize for the horrendously long delay for this chapter. I've been devoting more of my free time to my drumming and lyrics, and it's caused me to lose some motivation for this story. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the story, I'm an aspiring drummer/lyricist/composer and music really is my true passion, so this story took a backseat in a way. A guy's gotta have his priorities, right? Music comes before anything else in my life, but I will NOT forget about this story.**

****** That was pretty mean what I did with that last chapter title, huh? Now seriously, did any of you honestly think that I'd just kill off Ellie, the most beloved character in the game like that? Come on, I'm not that cold. I don't have the heart to do something like that to you guys, and I can't afford the emotional anguish settlements that would inevitably follow, ha! So, I hope you can all breathe a little easier now.**

**Now, it's been brought up in reviews that something's felt "off" since the return, and I want to address that now. I know that so far after the hiatus the story hasn't been quite up to the standards of the pre-hiatus chapters. I readily admit that the post-hiatus content in general will not be as strong as pre-hiatus. I will explain why that is, and I addressed this briefly a few chapters ago. I had the first ten chapters all thought out well in advance, but after that, all I had was the ending. The ending takes place a year after chapter ten because it happens on a specific day. The chapters to fill that time gap I'm really just writing as I go along, so I attribute the somewhat lackluster writing to lack of planning. I have the final chapter all typed up and have for weeks, I keep going back and revising to make sure it's as perfect as I can get it. I'm hoping the finale will make up for anything the rest of the post-hiatus chapters lacked. Counting this chapter and the finale, there are 5 chapters left in the story, and it definitely ends in an intense fashion.**

**For this chapter, I really wanted to create just the wackiest character I could. For most of the chapter you'll only see his quirkiness, but towards the end you'll see a completely different side. The pacing is a little off though, and I apologize. Also a little Easter egg: the sports team mentioned in this chapter can be found on a poster in the game if you look around. And just an FYI about the character: the "J" is pronounced like a "Y" in his last name. And if any of you watch the show NCIS, there's a little tribute to Ducky in here that I like.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 14: Rescue

Winter was beginning to lose its grip on the area. After enduring another near-death ordeal, Ellie was particularly happy that it was nearly gone. Joel was relieved as well; two winters in a row he had nearly lost the only thing that kept him going. He never had anything against that season, but now he despised it. Thankfully for him and Ellie it was nearly time to say good riddance for a year.

Joel was stationed at the outpost a few miles up the road from Jackson. It was his first ever stint there and it meant spending a full twenty-four hours away from Ellie. He hated spending any time away from her, especially considering the times she's gotten injured when he was away. A man whom Joel hadn't met previously named Gerry manned the lone lookout tower, scanning the road in both directions looking for any signs of trouble. It was nearly the end of his shift in the tower when he caught sight of a lone man with a rifle running down the road.

"Got a man in my sights. He's armed with a rifle and appears to be alone," he said over the radio.

"You know the drill. Call out for him to stop. If he doesn't comply, shoot him," Joel told him.

Gerry aimed his rifle at the man, and ordered him to stop. "Stop right there!"

The man immediately held his hands up, indicating he wasn't going to try anything. "I don't want trouble. Must help." Joel noticed the man had an accent that was not from the area, or even the country. It was... European? _What the hell is a European doing here?_

"Put down your rifle, and take three steps back from it!" Gerry demanded.

The man complied. "Yes, yes. Of course, of course." He set his rifle on the ground and stepped back, like Gerry told him to.

"Keep your hands up! Two of our men will come to you!"

"That's us, Earl," Joel said. He and Earl approached the man with their rifles lowered, but ready to use in case the man made a sudden move. "Now then, tell us your name and what kinda help you need."

The European man spoke. He seemed very exuberant and disjointed almost. "My name is Tomas. Tomas... uh... Jandl! That's it, yes! Tomas Jandl. I need help. My family is in... uh... is in... danger! Yes, they're in danger! Must help."

Joel and Earl looked at each other with confusion. They gave each other a look that said _this guy isn't all there._ "Look, come into our compound here and explain-" Joel started to say, but Tomas cut him off.

"There is no time! There are two kids and they are not safe! No they are not safe at all. No."

Joel and Earl didn't exactly know what to do. They weren't supposed to just leave their post, especially with an outsider. He seemed genuinely scared though, and they could both tell he was certainly not a bandit. Joel knew all about how it feels when your kids were in danger, and he wanted to help. "What do you wanna do?" he asked Earl.

Earl shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, I doubt he's setting us up. I suppose we could follow him."

Joel turned back to the strange man. "Lead the way."

"Thank you, thank you," Tomas said as he picked up his rifle. "Follow me. This way... yes, let's go... this way."

* * *

Back at the house, Hannah was stressing out about the day ahead. She would have her first ever guard duty shift in the afternoon, having turned sixteen a couple weeks prior. Ellie walked into Hannah's bedroom and saw her fidgeting with her hands. "Hey, Hannah," she said casually.

"Hey, Ellie," Hannah responded. Ellie could hear the tension in Hannah's voice. It was clear she was in distress.

"Something bothering you?" Ellie inquired.

Hannah sighed. "It's my first ever shift on guard duty this afternoon. I'm really nervous about it."

"Hannah, there's nothing to be worried about," Ellie tired to reassure her.

"How would you know?" Hannah asked defensively. "You've never had guard duty; you're still only fifteen. Besides, you've had a lot more exposure to dangers than I have. I've lived in Jackson since I was five; I've never been drawn into a situation where having to kill someone was even a legitimate possibility. On guard duty, that is a possibility. I'm scared, Ellie... I'm scared of being put into a kill or be killed situation. What if that happens today?" In Hannah's nearly eleven years in Jackson, there had only ever been five attempted raids on the town, never with any casualties to anyone in the town. The last attempt happened over three years ago, but one could happen at any time.

Ellie sat down in the bed next to her friend to try and lend support. She spoke in a soft, genuinely affectionate tone to her. "Look, I'm not gonna swear to you that it won't happen, because there's no way of knowing. I'll tell you this though; if you do end up in that situation, put the lives of the ones you love ahead of yours. That may sound like stupid advice, but it makes you sharper when you know you have something to protect. What if it was me you were trying to protect? Would you put yourself in the line of fire to keep me safe?"

Hannah turned to Ellie and sat silent for a few seconds, taking what Ellie said to heart. A smile grew on her face, and she responded with "I'd do anything to keep you safe, Ellie."

Ellie smiled back and the two girls hugged each other. "And I'd do anything for you."

* * *

Tomas ran down the road from where he came from and Joel and Earl followed. He turned into the woods at a seemingly random spot; there was no specific trail they were following. Joel and Earl stayed right on Tomas's heels, going wherever he went and taking cover when he did. They were crouched behind a fallen tree when Joel asked him "So what exact kinda danger is your family in."

Tomas explained the situation. "It was me, my girlfriend, her two kids, and her brother. We've been holed up in a cabin out in the woods. Myself and her brother were... uh... we were... patrolling the woods when we found uh... bandits. The bandits, they shot at us, you know... bang bang... and sadly her brother was killed. I took out two of the three bandits and the third fled away... away from the cabin. I don't know if there are more, but they could be coming back."

"Where is this cabin?" Joel asked.

"It's well hidden... secret, you know. Clever. We're not that far, no we're not."

The more Joel and Earl heard Tomas talk, the more bizarre he seemed to be. "Well, lead us there."

"That's what I'm doing." He stood up from behind the tree and began leading them once again through the forest.

They stood up against a small cliff face, and Joel could hear Tomas talking to himself. He seemed to be arguing with himself out loud. It was like a conversation with two people, except there was only him. Not only was he arguing with himself, which was bizarre, he was doing it in some other language. "_Tomas!_" Joel yelled under his breath. Not only was Tomas annoying him, there were bandits who would be able to hear the talking if they were close enough.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking to myself!" the strange man snapped.

"You said there are bandits in these woods, so keep your voice down," Joel said.

"Oh, yes... bandits. No good, they will hear us. We must keep quiet, yes... very quiet."

Joel gave up. This man had lost his mind long ago; there was no point in trying to reason with him. "Just... lead the way," Joel said.

"This way... we're close." Tomas led them around the cliff and down a trail that was very easy to miss. He may have been crazy, but he picked a good place to hide out.

Along the trail, Earl spotted a dead body on the ground. "Joel, there's a body right here." Joel went over next to Earl to inspect the body. He had been shot in the head from an elevated position. Looking in the direction the shot must have come from, Joel saw the ledge the bandits must have used.

"That's Sean. He was my girlfriend's brother." He got next to Joel and Earl and pointed up to the ledge. "There were three of them. I took one out before Sean was shot, then when I took out the second one the last guy fled. We're so close now, this way." He quickly led them through the woods, and within a minute they caught sight of the cabin. "Hide, I don't know if bandits are around, no I do not."

Joel and Earl did as Tomas instructed and got down behind another fallen tree. "I don't see anythin' outside. Earl, take a look into the house with your binoculars. Make sure there's no bandits in there."

"Yes, smart... very smart," Tomas said.

"Keep quiet for a second," Earl instructed as he looked through the windows with his binoculars. "I see a woman and two kids. No sign of bandits."

"Thank goodness," Tomas said. "We must go get them out of there fast, yes we must."

"We'll get them out and take all of you back to town," Joel told the frightened man. Tomas nodded.

"Follow me and move carefully," Tomas said. He moved up with his rifle raised, scanning the woods surrounding the cabin. Joel and Earl did the same. Tomas got to the front door of the cabin and entered. "Tori, kids, we need to go!" Joel and Earl entered right behind him. There were three people in the house. The oldest was Victoria, who went by Tori for short. She was in her early thirties and had dirty blond hair that came to a little past her shoulders. There was her son and oldest child, Nate. Nate was thirteen and small for his age. He was just barely over five feet tall, and very skinny, with the same color hair as his mother which just covered his ears. Then there was the youngest, Farrah. Farrah was only a little bit shorter than her older brother, but was not quite as skinny comparatively. Her hair came down to her upper back, and was dirty blond like Nate and Tori.

Tori screamed at Tomas when he, Joel, and Earl came in. "Where the hell were you?! Where's Sean?! Who are these guys?!"

"Tori, it's not safe here. There are bandits, many bandits. Your brother didn't make it, but these friendly guys will get us to safety."

Tomas saw shock on Tori's face. "Sean's dead?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so. Now we must go, yes we must. It's not safe here... bandits."

She looked at Joel and Earl. She didn't fully trust them, but her boyfriend seemed to. "Where will you take us?" she asked them.

"There's a town a couple miles away from here. It's fortified and we even have electricity from a nearby dam," Joel told her.

She turned to Tomas. "You trust them?" she asked.

"Yes, yes. I do, I do."

Tori turned back to Joel and Earl. "Lead the way."

"Kids, stay right behind your mom," Tomas told Tori's two kids, "you cover us from the front," he instructed Joel, "and you cover our rear," he told Earl.

Joel led them out of the house and down the trail they followed Tomas down. He took out his radio and called the outpost. "Joel to Jackson outpost."

There was a brief moment of silence, before a voice responded. "This is Jackson outpost, go for Gerry."

"We got the man's family, we're takin' them back to the town."

"Understood." Joel put his radio away.

When the rest of the group stepped into the open, a shot came from back in the woods, and a bullet whizzed less than an inch past Joel's head. "Shit! The bandits are back!" Joel turned around to the ledge Tomas pointed out earlier and saw two bandits there.

Tomas raised his semi-automatic rifle and quickly managed to drop them. "Run!" he screamed. "Follow Joel!"

"Stay right on my heels!" Joel called to the group. The kids were terrified and practically frozen with fear. "LET'S GO!" He shouted again. Tori grabbed her kids and got them running with the rest of the group. They only managed to get a couple hundred yards before more shots rang out. This time they were coming from many different directions. "THEY'RE SURROUNDIN' US! FIND COVER!" Tori dropped down on top of her kids to shield them from the hail of bullets coming from all around. Joel and Earl stood back to back, picking off bandits with their scoped hunting rifles. Tomas stood over his girlfriend and her kids with his semi-auto .22 long rifle and put suppressing fire on the locations of the bandits.

Tori's kids were both crying as bullets ripped past from every which way. "Just keep calm kids. I know this is scary, but if you just stay down and stay calm you'll be fine." She tried to calm her children down, but to no avail. Their screams of terror would not subside.

The volley of fire the men put out seemed to do the job, as the bandits withdrew back into the woods. "They're retreating!" Tomas called out.

"No they're not, they're regroupin'!" Joel yelled. "They'll be back in numbers soon, we gotta get the hell outta here!"

Tomas grabbed onto Tori's arm and pulled her up. "Tori, Farrah, Nate, it's okay now, let's go."

"Let's go kids, with me," she said to her children. The group ran through the woods, checking back frequently for when the bandits would return. They ran past a large boulder, and out from behind it emerged a bandit, unnoticed by the group, with his rifle raised. The man set his sights on little Farrah - only nine years old - who was trailing behind the rest of the group. The young girl froze as she stared down the barrel of the bandit's rifle. People like him didn't have a concept of mercy. They didn't hold back for children or anyone else. They killed senselessly, as Farrah was about to find out firsthand. Tori realized her daughter had fallen behind, and she looked back to see the bandit about to gun down the poor terrified child execution style. Tori knew it was too late to do anything. "FARRAAAAAH!" she bellowed, as all she could do was watch.

Time slowed to a crawl for Farrah; the only thing she could hear was the pounding of her heart as she awaited her imminent and untimely death at the hands of a ruthless bandit. She had not even seen a decade; she was far too young to die, but that didn't matter to a cold-blooded savage. The man pulled the trigger, but in a flash of heroism, Tori dove on top of Farrah and took the bullet that was meant to kill her child.

The bandit then took a bullet himself as Tomas dropped him with his rifle. "TORI!" he screamed as he saw his girlfriend on top of Farrah. He ran over to her to check on her. The bullet hit her in the right bicep; a non-lethal shot barring infection and blood loss. She was going to survive, but she was in great pain. Tomas helped the woman to her feet. She saved her daughter's life, but she did not think of herself as a heroine. "You... are... amazing!" he yelled to Tori.

"I sure as hell don't feel amazing," she joked. It made Joel and Earl smile to see that she was still in good spirits after nearly losing her youngest child and getting shot herself.

Tomas kept singing his praise for her. "You put yourself in between Farrah and the bandit! You were willing to die to protect your child! That's amazing!"

"No, it's just parenting. Any good parent would take a bullet for their kid." That phrase struck a nerve in Joel. The reason he lost Sarah was because he didn't do enough to protect her. He didn't put himself in front of the bullet, and the end result was the death of his daughter.

Earl interrupted Tomas and Tori's conversation. "Yeah, yeah... you're both amazing, we get it, now let's get the hell out of here!" The group turned to follow Earl, but Joel was still lost in thought, reflecting on Sarah's death and if he was a bad parent because she died. "Joel!" Earl called out, but Joel didn't respond. "JOEL!" Joel snapped out of his trance when he heard a gunshot in the distance. The bandits had returned once again. "Get to cover!" Earl pulled Joel behind the boulder. "Joel, just get the woman and kids back to town. Tomas and I will stay here and draw their fire."

"Tomas, no!" Tori screamed.

"Tori, you're hurt. You need to get help. I'll be fine." Tori looked at Tomas with sad eyes. "Don't worry about me. Get to town... I'll be there soon."

"Tomas..."

Tomas hugged her quickly and kissed her. "Just go. Stay close to Joel."

She didn't want to leave Tomas in a situation like this. Tomas and Earl were greatly outnumbered, but she was also concerned with protecting her own flesh and blood. "Kids, be ready to run."

Earl gave instructions to Joel. "Tomas and I will put suppressing fire on the bandits. When we do, you run and take them straight to the town."

"Gotcha." He turned to Tori and her two frightened children. "You guys ready?" he asked.

Tori looked at Farrah, and she nodded. She then looked at Nate, and he nodded. "We're ready," she said.

Earl and Tomas looked at each other, and stuck their rifles out around the boulder and started firing at the bandits. At that exact same moment, Joel started running through the woods leading Tori and her kids back to Jackson. They jumped down a small ledge which put themselves out of the bandits' direct lines of fire. "Keep pressure on the wound," Joel instructed Tori. She did as she was told, and kept running. Joel turned back to them and called out, "The town's a couple miles away, so it's gonna be a lotta runnin'."

"We'll be fine," Tori said. They ran non stop for about ten minutes, then they got to the edge of the trees.

"There's the road!" Joel called out. They emerged from the woods, and onto the road which took them straight to Jackson. "Joel to Jackson gate: I've got a wounded woman and two young children with me. Keep a look out for us," Joel said into the radio.

"This is Doug manning the gate tower, I copy."

"Keep up," Joel told the group. The kids were exhausted, and were huffing and puffing for breath. They had never done anything remotely as strenuous as the running they just did. Nate dropped down to his hands and knees, and Tori had to help him back up. "We can't stop here!" Joel yelled to Tori.

"Joel, my kids are exhausted! They can barely breathe. Just give us a quick breather, please."

Joel's patience had worn thin. They did not have time to spare, but the kids had pushed their bodies nearly to the breaking point. Joel shook his finger angrily at Tori, and told her "Thirty seconds."

"Breathe kids," she told them, "just breathe. I know you're exhausted but when he get to the town you can rest all you want." Farrah bent over and went into a coughing fit from all the exertion she did. She had eaten not too long ago, and all the running had upset the food in her stomach. She vomited up some of the food she ate, and dropped to her hands and knees. "Farrah, sweetie, it's okay."

"Mommy, I'm dizzy," the young girl said.

"Joel, I'm sorry but you're gonna need to carry Farrah for me. She's in no condition to run and I can't take my hand off my wound."

Joel didn't hesitate to comply with Tori. He got to the ground in front of Farrah and instructed her to get on his back and hold on tight around his collarbone. "Whatever you do don't let go," he told her.

"I'll try," she said. The group began running again, only a little slower this time. After nearly another ten minutes of running, they emerged over the ridge and got sight of the town.

"We're almost there," Joel said. "It's gonna be okay, we're almost there." As they began their descent down the hill towards the town, Joel could feel Farrah's grip around his body start to loosen. "You still with me back there, kiddo?" She did not answer, and her arms again loosened up around Joel as she started to slide off his back.

"Farrah!" Tori cried out. Joel eased her to the ground and looked at her. The exhaustion had taken a toll. She was half-conscious and had almost no movement in her limbs, but she was still fully aware. Joel could see in her eyes that she'd be fine.

"She's gonna be okay," Joel assured Tori as he picked Farrah up in his arms and carried her towards Jackson. The gate opened as they approached, and Joel looked down to check on the girl in his arms. "You doin' okay?" he asked. Farrah nodded gently indicating she was okay, but she was too exhausted to speak. They got through the gate and the guards instinctively had their weapons raised on the outsiders as a precaution. "Put your guns down and make a path! I gotta get these people to Brenda's!" The crowd of people dispersed as Joel led them to Brenda's house. They got to the porch at Brenda's when Farrah finally spoke up.

"Joel?" Joel stopped for a second, and looked down at her. "Thank you," she said weakly.

"Nothin' to thank me for." He used his foot to knock on Brenda's door. "Brenda! I got a wounded woman and two exhausted kids with me!"

Brenda quickly opened the door and saw Joel holding a little girl in his arms, with a woman behind him who was bleeding from the right arm and a young boy next to her. Joel walked in and saw Ellie talking with Nicky in the middle of the room. When Ellie saw the outsiders, she stood up and came over to them. "Shit, what happened?"

"Language, Ellie," Brenda said. Even though proper etiquette didn't have a place in society anymore, Brenda still didn't like hearing that kind of language coming from a kid.

"Okay, seriously?" Ellie said, frustrated. "You're more worried about- never mind," she stopped herself before she got carried away.

Joel brought Farrah over to the bed and laid her down on it. Brenda seemed more concerned with Tori and her bullet wound. "No, the girl. My arm can wait; she can't," Tori insisted.

Brenda looked at Farrah in the bed, and back at Tori. "If you insist." She got next to the bed Farrah was in and put her hand on the little girl's head. "What's your name, sweetie." Farrah was still exhausted, and she could only manage a soft moan. "It's okay, you can tell me."

"Her name's Farrah," Tori said. Brenda turned back to her. "My name's Victoria, but you can call me Tori for short. That's my son Nate over there."

Brenda looked back at Farrah and spoke affectionately to her. "Farrah? Is that your name?"

Farrah nodded gently, and softly said "yeah" in response to Brenda.

"Okay. Can you tell me exactly how you feel?" Brenda asked.

"Weak," Farrah said. The running she did had taken a serious toll. If she had been running the entire time, her body might have broken and she might not have made it to town.

Brenda made her observations and quickly reached a diagnosis. "She's severely dehydrated and exhausted. Nicky, go get one of the IV kits from the storage room."

"On it," Nicky said as she quickly did as Brenda instructed.

Brenda turned back to Farrah and put a hand on her forehead. "I'm sorry sweetie, this is going to hurt. But we have to give it to you to keep you alive." Farrah groaned at the mention of pain, but she would rather have to go through a little pain than die. Nicky came back with the IV, and Farrah cringed at the sight of the large needle. Brenda rubbed Farrah's arm with a strange orange liquid, prepping to insert the IV into her arm. "You might want to look away, sweetie. And you'll also want to squeeze your mother's arm." Farrah took both of Brenda's suggestions, turning her head away and grabbing onto Tori's arm. Brenda stuck the IV into the girl's arm, causing her to squeal softly. "Sorry. I know it hurts but it will save your life."

Farrah looked back at Brenda, and said, "Thank you, ma'am."

"It's my job, sweetie. Now let me go take a look at your mother." Brenda stood up and walked over to Tori who still had her hand pressed tight onto her bullet wound. "Move your hand and let me look." Tori complied and Brenda inspected the wound. The bullet had penetrated deep into her arm. Brenda picked up a pair of large tweezers to remove the bullet. "Now, let's get you out of this woman's arm," she said as she reached the tweezers into the wound. Tori winced as the tweezers made contact with the sensitive exposed tissue. The tweezers went deep, and Brenda eventually found the bullet. "Aha," she said as she pulled it out, "you were in there really deep, now weren't you?"

"Okay, talking to the bullet," Tori sighed.

"When you're old like me, you just start talking to things." Brenda picked up a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "Now, this is going to really hurt."

She poured the alcohol over the wound and Tori screamed out in pain. "AAGGHH! Son of a... bitch!"

"Here, squeeze my arm if you have to," Ellie said as she offered her left arm to Tori. She grabbed on and held Ellie's arm in a death grip as she tried to fight the searing pain of the alcohol. Ellie was amazed at the woman's strength, as she could feel the circulation in her arm being cut off and watched her hand start to turn white.

"Okay, that should do it. Now just let me stitch it up and you'll be good to go." Tori mercifully released Ellie's arm from her grip, as Brenda prepared to stitch her wound closed. "Did you know, miss Victoria... that in the civil war they used maggots to treat bullet wounds?" Tori remained silent, mildly disturbed by Brenda's question. "The maggots would eat away any infected tissue, thus cleansing the bullet wounds and maybe even saving limbs from amputation."

Ellie gagged. Maggots grossed her out to begin with, and the thought of having them eat away at her flesh if she got shot made her feel sick. "That's disgusting. I did not need to hear that."

"They used what they had. It wasn't pretty, but they didn't have any disinfectants like we have today. And there we have it," Brenda said as she finished stitching up the wound on Tori's arm.

Tori turned back to Joel with a look of concern on her face. "Joel, is Tomas okay?"

Joel wanted to tell her he was, but he had no way of knowing. "I'm sure he is."

Immediately after Joel said that, Tomas walked into Brenda's house. "Tori!" he screamed as he ran towards her.

"Oh, Tomas, thank God you're alright!" The two hugged each other tightly, joyed that they were both okay.

"Oh, Tori, you're okay. You were shot and I was worried but you're okay so I'm not worried anymore and I'm so glad." He looked at Farrah in the bed. "What happened to her? Is she okay?"

"She's dehydrated and exhausted," Tori explained to him. "She'll be fine."

Tomas turned to Joel and threw his arms around him, grateful that he got his girlfriend and her kids to safety. "Thank you, Joel. Thank you so so much, yes."

Brenda interrupted the two. "Excuse me, but can you go over there?" she asked as she pointed away from the beds. "I need to tend to the young one."

"Okay... yes, do that," Tomas said as he, Joel, and Ellie gave Brenda the space she needed.

* * *

Tomas had been talking to Tori for a while, but he came over to Joel and Ellie and sat down in the chairs with them. "I can't thank you enough for getting my family to safety."

"Don't mention it," Joel said as he nodded.

Ellie was intrigued by the outsider's accent. "I've never heard an accent like that before. Where are you from?"

"I was born in Czech Republic. I lived there until I was eighteen."

"Just how does someone from the Czech Republic end up here?" Joel inquired.

"Well... back home I was big shot hockey player. I was actually the top rated player in all Czech Republic. When I was eighteen I came over to the United States to play for the Utah Snakes. I was supposed to be 'the next big thing'. You know... 'great new young stud from Europe'. There was much hype about me... everywhere it was like 'Oh yeah, this new kid, Jandl... he's the best young player to come out of Europe we've seen in over twenty years'. I was seeing and hearing my name everywhere; 'Jandl this, Jandl that." Even before the season started I was signing autographs for people... it was very surreal." He told his story with tremendous enthusiasm, but his mood seemed to change drastically in an instant. "But... I never got a chance to show what I could do." Tomas paused as he was telling his story. "It was the middle of training camp when the outbreak hit. Even though I had only known my teammates for a couple weeks, they were already like my brothers. And seeing them lose their minds and get torn apart..." he paused again as his voice started to break. "It was horrifying."

Ellie felt great empathy for him. She had also seem people very close to her lose their minds from the infection. "I bet it was."

"Joel, come here for a sec," Brenda called out to him.

"Sorry Tomas, Brenda needs me." Joel felt a little bad about having to walk away from Tomas as he was telling his story.

Tomas continued, and grew even more emotional. "But the worst part... was what I didn't see."

"What do you mean?" Ellie asked.

Tomas's breathing broke as tears formed in his eyes. "When I left home to come to America, I came alone. I left behind six siblings, our mother who raised all seven of us by herself, and..." he could no longer contain his tears, "...my girlfriend and our newborn s-son." Ellie grew emotional along with Tomas. She couldn't even comprehend leaving behind a newborn, and then have the world go to shit, knowing that the infant couldn't possibly survive. "Oh, Patrik... he would have only been two months old when the infection reached my country. But... the last time I talked with my family, we were talking about when I would see them again. I never g-got a chance to tell them g-goodbye." He was fully sobbing at this point in the story. "Can you imagine... being halfway around the world from everyone you love, knowing that surely horrible things happened to them... and that you will never be able to see them again?" He covered his mouth with his hand, trying to fight the torrent of tears. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

Ellie got closer to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing to apologize for. Everyone's lost something or someone... it's just the world we live in. You've got a great family now, cherish them."

Tomas looked at Ellie and smiled. "It's remarkable that a girl so small can carry a heart so big." Ellie turned her head away in mild embarrassment at his compliment. "What is your name?" he asked.

"Ellie," she responded.

"Thank you for listening to me," he said earnestly.

"Your welcome," Ellie replied.

* * *

**That concludes chapter 14 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: Hannah learns the hard way not to trifle with the wrong people.**

**Please leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15: Trifle

**Author's Notes: Alright now, things are gonna get a little hairy in this chapter. You've seen in the past that Hannah's kind of a hardhead, well you really don't know how much of a hardhead she can be. I won't go into a lot of detail, but she gets herself and Ellie into some deep doo-doo. Warning: Some of the stuff in this chapter may be mildly disturbing to some people, but it isn't too graphic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.**

* * *

Brand New Start

CH. 15: Trifle

"With the completed restoration of the Jackson police station and courthouse, this community will now have its first ever functioning justice system," Tommy proudly declared at a town gathering in the park. Now that the town had a functioning jail, they wouldn't have to resort to throwing people out of the town, essentially condemning them to die. "The Wild West days of Jackson are over. Order will now be kept peacefully, and effectively. I want to thank Joel, Earl, Houser, Dean, Jordan, and Colin for assisting me in restoring these essential buildings, and establishing the Jackson Police and legal system." The crowd applauded again as Tommy concluded his speech. He immediately went to Joel, who got the idea to restore those buildings in the first place. "Now we're another step closer to normal life. A proper justice system in a world like this… who'da thought that was possible?"

"If you'd asked me a year ago, I woulda said no way in hell," Joel replied.

"When do you think we'll get to actually test this system out?"

"I hope we never have to use it, but havin' this is a hell of a lot better than throwin' them outta town like the old west."

"Damn right it is."

* * *

Ellie and Hannah sat on the couch at the house. In recent weeks, Hannah hit a growth spurt, and now stood eye to eye with Ellie, maybe even slightly taller. Ellie was a little bitter than Hannah surpassed her in cup size, as any teenage girl would be, and she had let her know on multiple occasions. The two teased each other constantly, but Ellie was currently in the lead in their "battle".

Jeffrey walked back through the door with a box in his hand. He had gone to Paul's to make a barter deal, and he had returned with what he got. "How much did you get?" Hannah asked.

"Just some spring clothes mostly."

"Mostly? You mean you got something else?"

"You're gonna like this." Hannah perked up, and ran over to look in the box. "Hey, no peaking. Wait for me to get it out." Hannah backed off, slightly disappointed, as Jeffrey reached into the box. He pulled out something that made Hannah's eyes light up bright: a slingshot.

"Oh my God! You got another slingshot for me!"

"Consider it a late birthday present."

"Have you had a slingshot before?" Ellie asked.

"I had one for like eight years. It broke about this time last year and I was devastated. I loved that slingshot." She hugged her dad, thanking him for getting her another slingshot. "Thank you dad. Thank you so much."

"No problem dear."

She let go and turned back to Ellie. "I used to be a crack shot with a slingshot. I wonder if I still am."

"Go try it out," Jeffrey insisted.

"Here, come on let's go outside," Hannah said eagerly.

"Hold on, let me get some targets," Ellie said. She went into one of the cabinets and pulled out three empty bottles to use as targets. "Okay, ready."

* * *

Ellie finished setting the three bottles on the fence posts in their backyard. Hannah and Ellie stepped back about thirty feet away from the bottles, and Hannah reached into the bag of marbles to grab her first shot. "Lock and load," she said. She set the marble in the sling, and gave Ellie a brief lesson on accurate shooting with a slingshot. "You've probably seen people shoot a slingshot like this," she held the slingshot upright in her hand, and pulled the sling straight back. Ellie nodded. "This is wrong. You don't hold the slingshot upright, because it won't get an accurate shot at all. You turn it slightly sideways, so that your hand and the two prong things, I forget what they're called, make a triangle. Pull the sling back as far as you can until it's right at your eye, close the other one, aim and fire." She aimed for the bottle on the far left, took a steadying breath, and let a marble fly. Traveling at over a hundred feet per second, the marble shattered the bottle. "One down." She reached back into the bag and reloaded, taking much less time than the first shot. She fired, and again hit her target. "Two down." She reloaded again and set her sights on the third bottle. She was laser-focused, in the zone, the pinnacle of precision; nothing could stop her. She was just about to let the marble fly, when all of a sudden...

"BLARGRALGL!" Ellie yelled as Hannah fired, causing her to jump and send the marble way off course.

Ellie doubled over with laughter, but Hannah had a very different reaction. She reached into her bag of ammo, grabbed a handful of marbles, and threw them all at Ellie. "I was in the zone and you ruined it!"

"I scared you and you know it," Ellie said through her laughter.

"I wasn't scared I was... mildly startled," Hannah said. She nearly jumped out of her shoes, but she was trying to protect her dignity.

"Bullshit. Admit it, I got you."

Hannah didn't want to give Ellie the satisfaction she was looking for, but she had to admit that Ellie did give her a good scare. "Fine you got me. Now let me finish off this bottle."

"Alright, I'm sorry."

"You should be," she said, mostly jokingly but also somewhat serious. She reached into the bag and pulled out one of the few marbles that was left, and loaded the slingshot. She had the bottle in her sights, she took a steadying breath...

"You won't hit it." Hannah ignored her friend, and concentrated solely on the bottle. Again, she took in a breath... "Those first two were luck, you won't get this."

Hannah gritted her teeth trying to resist the urge to tackle Ellie. "Ellie, shut up or else you'll make me lose my balance and accidentally shoot you."

"You wouldn't shoot me, Hannah," Ellie said, still trying to antagonize her friend.

Hannah paused to try and think of a witty comeback, but it eluded her. "Yeah, you're right. Now please... quiet."

"Okay, I'll be quiet this time, I swear."

Throughout the most recent exchange Hannah had not let the bottle out of her sights. She steadied herself, praying that Ellie would keep her big mouth shut... and let it fly. The marble hit the target dead center, shattering the bottle like the first two. "Ha! Showed you, didn't I?"

"Not bad at all," Ellie said, not wanting Hannah to know that she was genuinely impressed. "Now, have fun cleaning up these marbles." She turned to go back into the house.

"Ellie, come on. Help me pick them up."

"Why? You threw them at me."

"Pleeeaaase..."

Ellie deliberated Hannah's pleas for help picking up the marbles. It would be the good thing to do... but she made the mess, so she should have to clean it up. "Nah," she said quickly, and went back inside.

Hannah sighed in defeat. "I don't know why I expected any different." She bent down and started picking up the marbles she had thrown.

* * *

Hannah sat on the couch holding the slingshot. She was almost fondling it, and had not set it down since she first got it. Joel and Jeffrey were out on a hunting trip with Tommy, and would be for most of the afternoon. Ellie walked down the stairs after finishing her shower and sat down next to her best friend. "You know, I used to actually put my accuracy to use."

"How so?" Ellie asked.

"I would uh... I would hide out in the park and shoot people when they weren't looking. I did that for a span of maybe two years and never once got caught. I would be in and out before they knew I was ever there."

Ellie was impressed at Hannah's stealth capabilities. "You're pretty sneaky I see."

"Yeah, but that was years ago. I think I stopped doing that when I was like ten and I was a lot smaller then. I wonder if I can still pull it off."

"Hannah, you can't just go around shooting random people with a slingshot-"

Hannah cut her off. "I'm not planning on shooting random people, I know exactly who my targets would be. Butch and his boys spend a lot of time in the park; I was gonna go for them."

Ellie was shocked that Hannah would try something like that. Butch was the leader of a small group of young thugs who were exceptionally dangerous. Though they were all still teenagers, they behaved like hardened criminals. "Hannah, you've made a lot of questionable decisions in the past, but this crosses the line. If they catch you, they won't hold back. They'll kill you, Hannah."

"So I won't get caught, it's easy."

Ellie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had always known that Hannah didn't have the most sound judgement, but she must have a death wish to think about trifling with a band of thugs. "Hannah, listen to me. You'd have to be suicidal to try that."

"Maybe if I do it alone, but what if I have a spotter with me?" She looked at Ellie with an inviting look, implying she wanted her to tag along.

Ellie stood up off the couch and took a step back. "No fucking way. You are not bringing me into that."

"Why are you so worried? It's just a game... a little harmless troublemaking."

"Hannah, there's nothing harmless about messing with those guys. Like I said... THEY WILL KILL YOU."**  
**

"Only if we get caught, which we won't as long as you follow my lead."

Ellie threw her hands up beside her head in disbelief. "Oh my God, you've lost your fucking mind. You're actually serious about this, and you actually think I'm coming with you."

"Well aren't you?"

"No, I don't want any part of this stunt. Hannah, I've never seen you like this. You've always been on the edge, but this is so far beyond anything you've ever done before. I don't know what the hell's gotten into you Hannah. I don't know if getting your slingshot back has made you mad with power but you need to come to your fucking senses."

"Ellie, I used to do this all the time. Don't get so worked up."

"Hannah, I'm trying to be the voice of reason here, since you've clearly lost any sense of reason. If you're actually serious, then go ahead. Just leave me out of it. And also know that if you go out there, you may not come back."

Hannah listened to Ellie trying to reason with her. Ellie's points were all valid, but Hannah's new-found confidence from getting her hands on another slingshot made her ignorant to the dangers she was about to walk into. She grabbed the bag of ammo, grabbed her slingshot, and walked out the door without saying anything further to Ellie.

As Ellie watched her best friend walk out, hellbent on carrying out her sick idea of a "game", she felt a pit in her stomach from the fear. Nothing she could possibly say would be able to convince Hannah to make the smart choice, and she was afraid. She was horrified thinking about what might happen to Hannah. If Butch's gang caught her, they wouldn't let her off easy by just killing her outright, they'd make her suffer before they did. Ellie let out a sigh, and sat down on the couch bringing her knees in close to her body and wrapping her arms around her legs. All she could do was wait... and hope that Hannah would come back in one piece.

* * *

Hannah got to the courtyard in the park and positioned herself up against the low wall surrounding it. She looked into the courtyard and saw two members of Butch's gang. Hannah knew that there were more, but they weren't in sight at the time. The two boys were both facing away from her; neither one would be able to see her. She reached into her ammo bag, pulled out a marble, and loaded the slingshot. She did not pull the sling back completely, because she did not want to do any real damage. She aimed it at the back of one of their heads, and fired. As soon as she let the marble fly, she got down behind the wall and moved along it to get away from where she fired from. After she got down, she heard the boy scream "Fuck!" and she knew she hit her mark. "Who the fuck did that?!" she heard him shout.

"Who did what?" the other boy said.

"Something fucking hit me in the back of the head." She heard a pause, and then the voice said "This must have been it." He had found the marble.

"Hold on, there was that one girl that always had that slingshot..." _Balls._ "I think her name was uh... Hannah." _Double balls, this is bad._

Hannah decided to abort, and she grabbed her weapon and ammo and quickly ran in between two houses nearby, looking back to make sure she wasn't seen. She got out of their line of sight, and it appeared that they did not see her. She snaked her way in and out of buildings so that if they were following her, she had a chance to lose them. She emerged back out on the street her house was on, and sprinted back there.

* * *

Ellie waited nervously for Hannah to get back. Hannah hadn't been gone long, but she was still worried about her. Her worry subsided when Hannah burst in through the door, and closed it quickly. Hannah leaned against the door panting heavily. "You okay?" Ellie asked.

Hannah didn't want Ellie to know that she almost got caught. "Yeah, I was just doing a lot of running to get back here."

"Why did you need to run?"

That question had made in unavoidable that she would have to bring it up. "I thought they got suspicious of me, so I got out of there. They didn't catch me though."

Ellie tried to resist the urge to say she told her so. She was concerned for Hannah. "Well... I'm glad you didn't and you're okay."

Hannah's heavy breathing had settled for the most part. "You were right Ellie, that was a stupid idea. I was really scared when they started looking for me."

Ellie couldn't resist it any longer. "I told you so. Hannah, do you have any idea how lucky you are?"

Hannah nodded. "I'm pretty lucky, that's for sure."

"Yeah. Don't ever do anything like that again. You really had me scared, Hannah."

Hannah looked at Ellie with regret for causing that much fear. "I'm sorry, Ellie." The two shared a hug, grateful that Hannah was okay.

* * *

Hannah and Ellie were taking a walk as the sun was going down, as they did every evening now that spring was in full effect.

"I threw the stick, Buckley went out to fetch it, and the fucking mutt just plopped down right when he got it."

"Ellie, that dog's ancient. Do you really think he'd want to play fetch?"

"He went out to fetch, he just didn't bring it back. Him being so fucking fat doesn't help either.

Hannah abruptly changed the subject. "Ellie, why do you curse so much?"

Ellie was surprised that Hannah would ask that. When she thought about it though, she didn't remember ever hearing Hannah say a word worse than 'damn' or 'hell'. "Better question is why does it bother you so much?"

Hannah shrugged her shoulders. "It's not that it bothers me, it's just that... my dad raised me to not use language like that. I don' know why you use it so much."

Ellie chuckled, and put an arm around Hannah's shoulders. "Hannah... my dear Hannah... we live in a fucked up world, right?" Hannah nodded. "Do you really think proper language has a place in society anymore?"

Hannah shrugged her shoulders again. "I guess not."

"Come on, let an F-bomb go."

Hannah moved her lips the way she would to make the 'f' sound, but couldn't bring herself to say the word. "Ellie, I can't."

"Say it. It's freeing."

She waited some more, trying not to let her friend down. She closed her eyes, and real quickly said "Fuck." She waited to see if she did in fact feel freeing. "I don't like it."

Ellie chuckled. "You are such a goody-two-shoes."

Suddenly, both girls were grabbed from behind. Each girl was grabbed by two people: one restrained their arms, the other covered their face. They didn't have time to scream before they were dragged off the street and into the church. The girls faces were uncovered and they saw Butch standing in the church. The people holding onto the girls separated them, and Butch went directly to Hannah as she screamed "No! No! No!" He took out a roll of duct tape, and put a piece across her mouth to stop her from screaming. Hannah resisted and struggled, but once the tape was over her mouth, she gave up.

Ellie did not give up. "Don't you fucking touch her!" she screamed. "Keep your fucking hands off of her!"

Butch went over to Ellie and pulled out a large buck knife, holding it up to her neck. "You listen to me, bitch. All we're going to do is teach your friend her a lesson about fucking with the wrong people. You do not say a word. If I hear one word, one sound, one peep out of you... I slit your throat, and I slit your friend's throat. Do I make myself clear?"

"Fuck you!" she spat at him.

He responded by pressing the tip of the knife against her neck, just enough to break the skin. "Do...I...Make...Myself...Clear?" he growled. The pain in her neck told her that he was serious about his threats. She just nodded, as fear was starting to replace anger. "Good." He removed the tip of the knife from her neck, and observed the blood slowly trickling down.

"You better do what he fucking says, bitch," the boy holding her said. "He doesn't fuck around; when he says something he fucking means it."

"Indeed," Butch added. He then went over to Hannah, and put the knife back in its sheath. "Hey cutie," he said. "Heard about your little stunt with the slingshot. I have to say I'm impressed with you. Although, I can't tell if you're either really brave or really fucking stupid. I hope you didn't honestly think you'd get away with it, because if you did it means that you're stupid, and I would very much like to think higher of you." Hannah glared at him with a fire in her eyes. The hate and anger boiled in her veins, and she wanted to scream, but the tape on her mouth prevented her from doing so. "There's one thing about us that everyone should know. You fuck with us, we fuck back." A grin formed on his face, and he pressed his tongue against Hannah's cheek and began dragging it all over her face. Hannah squirmed erratically at the violation, causing a wave of laughter from the other four boys in the church.

"Squirm you little whore," one of the idle ones said.

Ellie wanted desperately to speak up or yell out, but she knew that if she did, she wouldn't live to tell about it. There were five of them and only one of her, there was no chance of victory for her. She gritted her teeth trying to fight back the urge to yell.

Butch finished licking all over Hannah, and stepped back laughing. "Oh, baby, don't try to act like you don't like it." The fire in her eyes intensified as she glared at him. "If you think that's bad, wait till you see this." He grabbed onto the collar of Hannah's shirt, and began ripping it right down the front. He ripped it almost the entire length of the shirt, stripping Hannah down to her bra. When he made a move to rip that off as well, Hannah kneed him as hard as she could, aiming for his crotch. She missed and connected with his thigh, to which he responded by cocking his hand back and backhanding her across the face, rocking his whole body with the swing and putting his full weight into that hand. The blow stunned Hannah, and she went limp, but did not lose consciousness.

That assault pushed Ellie over the edge. "STOP!" she yelled out as loud as she could. All the boys turned to look at her, and she knew she had made a big mistake.

"Oh, you fucked up now, bitch!" the one holding her shouted.

Butch pulled the knife from his belt as he and another boy started walking towards her. "Grab her legs and hold her down," Butch instructed to him.

"No, stop! Please don't!" she screamed as she fought for her life. She kicked violently, hoping to strike one of the boys and try to break free. Her legs were restrained, and she was dragged to the ground; one boy sitting on her arms, the other holding down her legs. "Please! I didn't-" Butch pressed his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming. She tried to bite him, but she was unable to.

He waved the knife in front of her face. "I told you what would happen if you made a sound! But you were stupid and didn't listen, so now I have to kill you!" Ellie made a quick last-ditch prayer that someone would come and save her. She was not ready to die, but there was no getting out of this. Butch brought the knife to her throat, ready to slash it open.

Just then, the last idle member let out a gasp as someone grabbed him from behind. Then a demanding voice yelled out "Let the girls go or I blow Terry's brain all over the fucking church!" It was Danni. Somehow she had known about the kidnapping and gotten into the church undetected.

Butch turned around to look at her, and saw that she was holding Terry around the neck with a revolver pressed up against the side of his head. He walked away from Ellie and over to her. "Danni, put the gun down and stop trying to act tough."

"Oh, you think I'm acting, that's cute."

"We all know you won't use-"

She took the gun away from Terry's head and aimed it at the floor in front of Butch's feet. She pulled the trigger and the bullet embedded itself in the floor les than an inch from Butch's feet, causing him to jump back. She held the revolver back to Terry's head. "You were saying..."

Butch's tone changed now that he was the one who's life was being threatened. He held his hands up in a surrendering position. "Uh... okay Danni-"

"Let the girls go NOW!" she yelled louder than the first time.

"Danni... just... be cool-" Butch pleaded. He was not so tough when the tables were turned.

"Don't fall for it Butch, she won't fucking do anything!" the boy holding Ellie's hands called out.

"Five!... Four!... Three!" Danni started counting down until when she would pull the trigger on Terry.

"Dude, she ain't fucking around!" the one holding Hannah said.

"Two!..." she pulled the hammer on the revolver back. "One!..."

"Let the girls go!" Butch yelled out. That got Danni to stop the countdown, but Butch's boys didn't comply right away.

"What?" the one sitting on Ellie's hands asked.

"You heard me, Ash. Let them go."

"Butch..." Ash held out his hand. "She's fucking bluffing. I can see through her like glass-"

"Are you willing to bet Terry's life, my life, or your life on that?!" Butch snapped.

Ash remained silent. While he really thought that Danni was only bluffing, he was not willing to risk his life or anybody's life if she was serious.

"That's what I thought. Now let... the girls...go."

The young men all looked around at each other, deciding whether or not to listen to Butch. Eventually Ash spoke up again. "You heard him." He got off Ellie's arms, and the one holding her legs did the same as the one holding onto Hannah let her go as well. The girls both ran behind Danni as Hannah held her shirt closed. Dannie released Terry and shoved him back to the rest of the group. She kept the gun raised and ready to use, and she saw the boys all put their hands up.

"Ellie, get Hannah covered up, get Tommy and his men over here, and take Hannah back home," Danni demanded.

"Here," Ellie said as she started removing one of her shirts. "I don't need to wear two shirts, you take this." She helped Hannah get into the shirt to cover up her midriff area. "Let's get this tape off." She ripped the duct tape off of Hannah's mouth, causing her to yelp in pain. Hannah kept her hands close to her body, and was whimpering from the shock. Ellie put her hands on Hannah's shoulders to help her out the door. "It's okay, Hannah. You're gonna be fine," she spoke words of comfort and encouragement as she and Hannah walked out of the church, leaving Danni alone with the group of thugs that nearly killed them.

"All of you, down on the fucking ground."

"Danni-" Butch tried to plead.

"On the ground now!" she yelled as she stepped closer, shaking the gun at them. She watched all five of them go to the ground. "Put your hands on your heads." They did as they were told, since Danni had shown that she meant business. "Now... I've got five bullets left in here, and there's five of you."

"Danni, think about what you're doing," Butch begged. "If you shoot us, that'll make you a murderer. Is that what you wanna be?"

"You guys kidnapped, violated, and tried to kill two young girls. I could make a case that this was justifiable."

"But do you really want to?"

She deliberated on his question. She did not actually want to kill them, but wouldn't hesitate for a second if she had to. "No. But I will if I have to. So I suggest you be smart, and don't make even the slightest false move."

* * *

Ellie was taking Hannah back to the house. She had a large black bruise forming on her face from getting smacked, and she was still shaking and whimpering. "It's okay. Just relax and listen to me." Ellie had not stopped trying to calm her down since they left the church. As they were walking back to the house, Ellie saw Tommy out. "Tommy!" Ellie called out.

Tommy walked over to the girls with great concern. "Are you okay? What the hell happened to ya?"

"We got kidnapped by Butch and his boys. They... they did... bad things to us, and Hannah's in shock."

"Where are they now?"

"Danni's got them held up in the church."

Tommy took his radio off his belt. "I need four men at the church. Have weapons and handcuffs with you." He clipped the radio back onto his belt. "Ellie, take her to Brenda's and get her looked at."

"I'm taking her back home first. Her dad needs to know about this."

Tommy thought it would be best to take her straight to Brenda's house, but at the moment he was only concerned with dealing with Butch. "Alright."

* * *

Ellie got back to the house with Hannah, and she opened the door for her. "Hey, Hannah needs to be looked at." Hannah walked in with help from Ellie holding her hands tight to her body, shaking, and whimpering.

"Holy shit!" Jeffrey shouted when he saw the condition of his daughter. He, Ellie, and Joel all helped her onto the couch. "Hannah, baby, tell me what happened." Hannah did not speak, and continued whimpering.

"She can't talk; she's in shock. We were walking and we got kidnapped by Butch and his gang. They... molested and hit her, and then tried to kill us both."

Jeffrey put his hands on Hannah's face to try and calm her down. "Hannah, it's gonna be alright. You're home now." He turned to Ellie. "Does Tommy know about this?"

"Yeah. He and some others are going to make an arrest."

"Good. Joel, get a glass of water for her please."

"On it," he said. He ran quickly into the kitchen and filled up a glass with water, and brought it back out equally as fast. "Here you go."

Hannah took the glass and took a small sip. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get her to speak a little bit. "Thank you," she said faintly. Jeffrey was heartbroken seeing his daughter in the state she was in. She had been severely traumatized, and could possibly be damaged for years. "Daddy," she said just as faintly, and Jeffrey hugged her tight. "It's okay baby, I got you. It's gonna be okay."

Joel took Ellie aside, seeing the thin line of blood running down her neck. "C'mon, let's get you cleaned up too." He led her to the kitchen where he got out a rag and began wiping the blood away. "You have any idea why they went after you girls like that?"

Ellie couldn't tell him the real reason. That would have to stay between her and Hannah. "They said... they said it was an initiation."

"An initiation for what?"

"I don't know, but Hannah was the target. We only got out with our lives because Danni came and rescued us. If it weren't for her we'd both be dead."

Joel sighed. "Well, we should all be thankful for her then."

"Yeah," Ellie said as she nodded.

There was a knock at the door. "Joel, can you get that?" Jeffrey, who was still tending to his daughter, asked.

Joel walked over to the door and opened it to find Tommy there. "Good news, they're all in custody," he reported.

"They better stay locked up for a long fucking time for doing this to my daughter," Jeffrey said.

"Don't worry, they will be. Looks like the new justice system's gonna be put to use after all."

"Good," Joel said.

"Y'all take care now," Tommy told them as he closed the door and left.

"Hannah, I'm so glad you're okay," Jeffrey said as he hugged his daughter tight.

Joel did the same to Ellie. "I'm glad you're okay too." It seemed to all of them that these close encounters always brought them closer together. They all feared that eventually, they would get too close and not make it out. This encounter was a sobering reminder to treasure every moment, because one day they might not be as lucky to get out alive as they were this time.

* * *

**That concludes chapter 15 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: A violent crime has unexpected repercussions.**

**Please remember to leave a review.**


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